Army Life
by suffocatingonsadness
Summary: Clary Morgenstern has been an army brat her entire life. And she hasn't always had it easy. After college she decided that she wanted to see what else the world had to offer, that was until she received devastating news. She decides to finally use her knowledge to help others. She becomes an intelligence analyst for the US Army. But will Clary be able to face her demons?
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing but the plot and possibly some small characters. All the main characters belong to Cassandra Clare. I don't want anyone to get offended if some of the information about military life is wrong. I only have a little bit of knowledge of what it's like to be in the military so please so rip me apart for it. Also, the Italian in this story if off of some translating website, so it might be wrong, but just go with it. It's going to be important to the story.**

 **Chapter One**

 **Clary POV:**

My name is Clarissa Morgenstern. I'm 24 years old and I'm classified as a genius. My IQ is around 180. I've never really flaunted my IQ around but my father, General Morgenstern, always brags about his genius daughter. He's been in the army since before my brothers were born. I was born when he was stationed in Italy, Camp Darby to be exact. I lived there until I was 8. Italian was actually my first language. Living there was a dream. It was beautiful, and one of the greatest experiences of my life. But all good things must come to an end.

We moved around a lot. Normally moving every two years or so. I was never in the same place longer than that. I was a normal army brat, and I loved it. That was until I was a sophomore in high school. I met this guy named Mark, and we really hit it off. A couple months after we started dating, and it got physical. He didn't like other guys talking to me, and he didn't like me living on base. He said he couldn't keep an eye on me that way. When my father was relocated to Fort Carson in Colorado I was relieved. It gave me an out of an abusive relationship. I didn't know it than, but he took all my self-confidence. He would call me fat, which led me to binging and purging. He would 'punish' me when he thought I was being bad. One night it got so bad that…Never mind. Way to soon to think about. I still have super bad anxiety attacks from what he did to me.

So here I am, working at a restaurant in New York City. I graduated from college with a degree in intelligence studies with a minor in political studies. I went to the University of Arizona for it. I moved to New York City to be closer to home. My father has been stationed on Fort Drum for the past 6 years, and although it's 5 and a half hours away, it's close enough for me.

My life has always been structured; from the day I was born I followed the army code and lived by its rules. I think that's why I found New York City so intriguing. It was busy, and chaotic. Something so different from what I grew up being taught. I had no idea what I wanted to do in life, which is why I work at this restaurant. I came in contact with different people every single day: lawyers, doctors, daycare workers, even a few homeless people. There was really never a dull moment. I liked my days being a completely blank slate. It opened a door of adventure.

It was a regular day for me. I was waiting behind the counter when the bell on the door dinged. I looked up and saw three people enter the restaurant. I recognized them immediately, it was the Lightwoods, Izzy, Alec, and Jace. I graduated high school with Izzy, which Jace and Alec were a year older. They come in here once a week for lunch. They always sat in my section. The boys were dressed in expensive suits, but what else would I expect from lawyers, and Izzy was dressed in the latest fashion, but she does own a chain of small retail stores, so I'm not surprised. I took a deep breath and repeated my motto in my mind 'Put on your best fake smile so nobody knows how much you're truly struggling' I walk over to their table and smile.

"Hey guys, what can I get you guys today? The usual?" I ask and they all look up at me.

"Yes, but can we have three waters and a pot of coffee today?" Izzy says and I nod and write it down.

"I'll be back in a second with the water." They nod and I walk into the kitchen. I would be lying if I didn't say waiting on them was intimidating. They all became something. And Alec and Jace were incredibly good looking men, and Izzy had a body and face that would put any Victoria Secret model to shame. I place the three waters on the tray and place a bowl of lemons on it as well and head out to their table. I am almost there when I look outside and see the familiar uniform that I never wanted to see again. I stop dead in my tracks. Completely forgetting what I was doing. I can slightly hear Izzy talking beside me.

"Uh hello? Can you give us our drinks?" She snips but I still don't look. The bell dings and they slowly approach me. I drop the tray and I knew everyone's eyes were on me but I couldn't do anything to make my body move.

"Clarissa Morgenstern?" I nod "I regret to inform you that your brother, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Morgenstern was killed in the line of duty." I almost fall to my knees when one of them catches me. I look into his eyes and it's Luke, a family friend of ours from when I was a kid. "Your father, General Morgenstern, is waiting for your arrival back at Fort Drum." I could feel the anxiety in my chest but black out before I can do anything about it.

 **Jace POV:**

We are all looking at these two men not knowing what the hell is going on. We've been coming here for the past year and clary has always been our server, but I've never seen her like this. She seems to be so flustered and she starts looking around before she speaks.

"Give me 5 minutes." She says and bends down and starts cleaning. "These people need new drinks. I need to refill them. I spilled them. I'm in the middle of a shift. I just can't leave. What did you say happened again? IED? Grenade? Friendly Fire? Gosh, I'm such a klutz."

"Miss. Morgenstern, you need to come with us now." The man says and Clary looks up at him.

"But I have work. I can't stop now. Non riesco a credere che questo è accaduto di nuovo." She started speaking in a different language; I have to admit it was pretty hot. "Sebastian was hard enough." I remember Sebastian. He graduated with Alec and I. "Does dad know? Of course she knows, he's the general of the Army." She looks up at us "Did you know I've never had a real home?" She asks and we just stare at her. "I was born in Italy, I lived there the longest. Can you imagine?" Clary turned back to the two men. "Luke, I can't go with you."

"Clary, your father just lost another son, he needs you home, now. We have a protection unit outside ready to escort you back to Fort Drum. Clary, please." She stares at him for about 2 minutes before he speaks again. "Clary, are you back yet?" He asks and she looks around.

"Yea. What happened?"

"Jonathan." Was all the man had to say and Clary knew what he meant. "General Morgenstern requested you be brought to Fort Drum immediately. We have a protection unit in place."

Clary looks at us and smiles a little, "I'm sorry you had to witness whatever just happened."

"You don't remember?" I ask and she just shakes her head and leave. We watch her her as she goes into the back before the man starts to speak.

"Anxiety attack. She's been getting them since she was 15. Complete black outs. She doesn't remember a thing while she's in the middle of one, that was surprisingly a mild one. I thought she'd take that worse. That's why they sent me. A familiar face always helps break back news."

"Luke." Clary interjected "They don't care about my life. Come on, I have another brother to bury." They both leave and they get into a black SUV. I look back at Izzy and we're still all in shock.

"That was intense." I say and Alec and Izzy both let out a little laugh. "Do you remember her at all from high school? I mean, since we stated coming here I always thought she looked familiar."

"Yea. I had class with her senior year." Izzy says. "AP English. Smart girl. She was actually our valedictorian, but she didn't want it. The school told her that wasn't an option so she skipped graduation."

"Damn." Alec and I say in unison. I keep trying to recall any memory I have of her but it keeps coming up empty. I was never friends with either of her brothers. They were more location friends. We had a few classes together but never really talked outside of that. She was a mystery, but very intriguing. Something that I think I want to pursue.

 _Translation:_

 _Non riesco a credere che questo è accaduto di nuovo- I can't believe it happened again_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

 **Clary POV:**

I stayed on Fort Drum for two weeks. I couldn't muster the energy up to get out of bed. I sunk back into some bad habits. I would eat my dinner and throw it up an hour later. I couldn't control anything around me, but I could control that. I was laying in bed when there was a knock on my door.

"Come in." I said and my father walked in and sat at the end of my bed. "What's up dad?"

"I want to talk to you about something. I just got a call from Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, and they are looking for an intelligence analyst. I know you said you didn't know what you wanted to do in life, but this is an amazing opportunity. It's close to where you live so you wouldn't have to leave the city. I told them all about you, and they are very interested. You can enlist right now, and be there in the next week." I look at him and think about this opportunity. I never knew what I wanted to do with my life after college. Which was why I was a waitress. But the more I thought about it, the more appealing the job sounded.

"Alright dad. I'll do it." He smiled at gave me a hug.

"Ti amo bambina" He whispers in my ear.

"Ti amo papa." I say back and he kisses my head.

The next week, was filled with paper work and soon I was enlisted with the United States Army. It felt good to be putting my knowledge to good use. I could really help a lot of people out, and I've always loved helping people. I knew I had to go into my old job and tell him that I wasn't coming back. My father had told me that they were desperate fro intelligence analysts that I was being deployed immediately. I had four days to get everything ready. I was escorted back to the city where I had Luke make a pit stop at my old job.

I walked in there in my full uniform and looked around to see Izzy, Jace and Alec sitting in the same booth they were in the day I left. They looked at me and I smiled and made my way over to the counter. John, my manger walked out with a shocked look on his face.

"Clary? I had no idea you were in the army."

"It's relatively new. I came in to tell you that I won't be returning to work. I'm being deployed in four days."

"Wow. That's intense. How long?"

"A year."

"Wow. I wish you the best of luck Clary. If you ever need this job back, it's yours."

"Thank you John." I turn around and see them all staring at me. I make my way over to their table. "Hey. I wanted to formally apologize for how I was the last time you guys saw me."

"It's okay. You got devastating news. It's understandable." Izzy says and smiles at me.

"Well, I'm sorry you had to see me like that."

"So you're deploying." Alec states.

"Yea, I'm needed in Iraq. They wanted me today but I needed a couple days to settle in my new house." He nods and I look over at Jace who has this look in his eyes. His beautiful, golden eyes. I mentally kick myself and smile at him.

"We wish you the best of luck." Izzy says, and I smile at her and thank her when a little boy runs up to me.

"Excuse me miss."

"Yes."

"Are you really in the army?" He asks and I laugh and bend down to be on his level.

"Yes I am."

"What do you do?"

"I'm an intelligence analyst."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I pick apart the bad guys plans and give my commander battle strategies based on what I find."

"Cool! My dads in Iraq right now. He left 6 months ago."

"Well, I'm going to Iraq as well."

"I know it's a long shot, but if you run into my dad can you tell him I said hi?" I smile and nod. "His name is Commander Michael Shaffer."

"I will try my best to find him." He gave me a hug and made his way back to his mom. I looked at her and she mouthed thank you and they exited the restaurant. I look back at Izzy, Alec, and Jace. "Well, enjoy the rest of your meal. Maybe in a year I'll see you guys around."

"Maybe. Good luck over there Clary." I smile at her and make my way out to the car waiting for me. I take a deep breath, and release. This was going to be an eye-opening year for me.

 **Jace POV:**

Clary walked out of the restaurant and into a black car. She smiled at me, and something inside of me twisted. I was a player in high school, but stopped to focus on my career. I haven't had a girlfriend, or even a one night stand in years. But work kept me busy, and I loved it but something about this girl made me want something more than just my job. Yet, she was leaving. For a year, and she was in the army now. It didn't really click until Izzy said something.

"Wow. The army. I never expected her to enlist."

"I mean, her father is in the army. Both her brothers were in the army. They are an army family. I can't say I'm surprised." Alec said and Izzy nodded along.

"But both her brothers died, it seems weird that her father would want his daughter in the same kind of danger."

"But she's an intelligence analyst. It can't be as dangerous as being on the front line. I doubt she'll see combat." I said and Izzy looked at me strangely. I think she could hear the difference in my voice. I was trying to convince myself that she wouldn't be in any danger. I didn't want anything to happen to her before I got the chance to actually know her.

 _Translation:_

 _Ti amo bambina- I love you babygirl_

 _Ti amo papa- I love you daddy_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

 **Time Jump-A Year Later**

 **Clary POV:**

A lot has changed in a year. I've grown a lot has a person, and I've seen things that would make you curl up in a ball and cry. I was in a Humvee on my way to another camp when we were ambushed. We only had one casualty. His name was Jack, and every time I close my eyes I can still see his face. I was coming home today, and I was walking through the airport when I bumped into someone.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there." I bend down to pick up his ticket when I look up and see those beautiful golden eyes.

"Clary?" I nod and he gives me a hug. "It's really good to see you've come home safely."

"Thank you." I look up at him and he almost looks nervous.

"I was wondering if you'd like to grab some coffee with me?" I stare at him, not believing what he just said, but I smile.

"I'd like that." I smile and he smiles back. He gives me a piece of paper.

"That's my number. Text me so I can have yours. I'll be back in a week, I'll call you and we can get together." He smiles at me and I smile back. He makes his way to his terminal while I make my way to the parking lot to met my dad. I walk out and he's waiting for me. I smile and make my way over to him. He pulls me into a hug and I hug him back.

"È così bello avere indietro." He whispers in my ear.

"È bello essere di nuovo." I say back. Growing up in Italy did have its perks. The Italian language was a special bond in our house. It was nice to have our own thing. We went back to my house on Fort Hamilton and I walked in and noticed that everything was put away.

"Your mother spent some time getting this place ready for you for when you came back. The kitchen is stocked, and all your clothes are put away, bed is made. Electronics are hooked up. Everything it ready."

"Thanks dad. I appreciate it." He kissed my head.

He looked at me with sad eyes before he spoke, "I heard about the ambush. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay."

"Are you? I heard about Major Jack Mortelli."

"Yea, but I can't get his face out of my head."

"That's normal kid. It happens when you see death. You'll get through it."

"How did you get over it?"

"Well, I had your mother. She was a big help, but I also talked to someone when it started to get out of my control. It does get better. I promise you that."

"Thanks dad."

"Ci vedremo presto baby." He kissed my forehead.

"Ciao papa."

I lay back on my bed after I get out of my fatigues and think about everything that happened in the last year. Than I start to think about Jace asking me out for coffee. The next day I go back to the old restaurant to talk with John. I walk in and see Alec and Izzy sitting in the same booth. I smile and wave and make my way to the back.

"Clary, it's so good to see you home in one piece. What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to stop in and say hi. How is everything going?"

"Everything is good. How was Iraq?"

"Dusty. But it was all right. I can't stay long, but I just wanted to say hi."

"It's good to see you Clary. I've missed you around here kid."

"I've missed you too. I'll see you around though. I couldn't possibly stay away from the best restaurant in New York." I walk out and head towards the door when I hear my name being called. I turn around and see Izzy waving me over. I walk to the booth and she pats the seat next to her and I take a seat.

"It's good to see you home Clary. How was deployment?"

"You know, dusty and full of gun fire."

"I can't believe you're in the army. I never pictured you doing that when we were in high school."

"Me either. I never really knew what I wanted to do. But I decided to put my genius skills into a career that can help a lot of people, and I actually really love it. This past year has been incredible. I never knew what drew people to the army, even as an army brat, but actually being in the army I finally understand it."

"Genius skills?" Alec questions and I nod.

"My father had my IQ tested when I was in high school."

"And what is it?"

"Around 180."

"Holy hell girl. That's incredible." Izzy says and Alec's jaw drops.

"It certainly comes in handy. Listen, I have to go. I have a debriefing on base in a half an hour. Maybe I'll see you guys around."

"I would love that! Maybe we could get together at the end of this week? Maybe go on a shopping trip together."

"Sounds good. Can I have your information?"

"Sure. Here's my number, how about you text me your address and I'll pick you up?"

"Sounds good, I'll leave your name at the gate so you'll be let on base." She smiles and says goodbye. I head over to Fort Hamilton thinking about everything that's happened. I never in a million years thought that I would be friends with the Lightwood kids, but I have a feeling that maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

 _Translation:_

 _È così bello avere indietro- It's so nice to have you back_

 _È bello essere di nuovo- It's nice to be back_

 _Ci vedremo presto baby- I'll see you soon baby_

 _Ciao papa- Bye daddy_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

 **Clary POV:**

The week had flown by and I had to say that getting to know the Lightwoods was actually really nice. Izzy was a really great girl, and our shopping trip had been an adventure. Today I was meeting with Jace at a coffee shop called Java Jones. I was nervous. I never really knew Jace, just that every girl would talk about him. I walked up to the coffee shop in full uniform. I had a meeting with my commander today and just got out. I looked through the window to see Jace sitting at a table in full suit. He looked good. I walked in and joined him.

"Hey Clary, how are you?"

"I'm good. Thank you. How are you?" I asked as a waitress came and took my order.

"I've been better. That last case I worked on was a tough one."

"Is that where you were all week?"

"Yea. A friend of mine called and said her girlfriend was in trouble, and wanted me to be her lawyer."

"That was very nice of you."

"How was Iraq?"

"You know, sandy and full of terrorists trying to blow us up."

"I couldn't even imagine being in the military. I was talking to Izzy and she said she never pegged you as the type to enlist."

"I didn't think of myself that way either. But after my brother was killed I had a conversation with my dad. The army has been trying to recruit me as an intelligence analyst since high school. They wanted me for my brains. And I've always loved helping people, and after being over there for a couple months I fell in love with my job. I was helping people, and I was protecting people." I smiled and he smiled back. "I never really understood the appeal of the army. I grew up in it, and I never understood why someone would want to move all the time, or leave their family for months on end, never having a stable environment. But being in the army now, I see it completely different way. It's really amazing. Fighting or patrolling, or intersecting messages along your brothers and sisters, really makes you feel like you're doing something good for the world."

"You sound like you really love it."

"I do. I really do. What about you? How is it being a lawyer?"

"It's cool. I love defending people. Makes me feel like I'm worthy of something. Makes me feel needed."

"What made you decide to become a lawyer?"

"My parents were lawyers before they died. And I remember this one case I went to with my dad, and I saw him in action and just wanted to be like him." He looked down, almost like he was remembering something. "They were killed when I was 10, and the man who did it was set free. I was so pissed, and it just fueled my fire to become a lawyer. At first I wanted to make sure those who deserved to be put away were put away, but after awhile I wanted to make sure that those who were falsely accused were given the justice that they deserved. Turns out I like defending people more than I liked putting people away."

"Wow. That sounds terrible. I'm sorry you went through that."

"Thanks. It was hard, but the Lightwoods adopted me, and they've been absolutely amazing to me." I smiled. "So you said the army wanted you for your brain?" I nod. "Are you like a genius or something?"

"Actually I am. My father wanted my IQ tested when I was in high school. It's around 180."

"Damn. That's insane."

"Yea, and the army definitely loves me for it." There was a comfortable silence between us until he spoke again.

"So, the day you found out about your brother you had an anxiety attack." I looked down at my coffee and nodded my head.

"Yea, I'm sorry you had to see that."

"It's okay, but that guy, Luke, said they've been happening for awhile."

"Yea, since I was 15. Bad experiences caused severe anxiety attacks."

"You don't remember anything about them?" I shake my head. "That must be annoying."

"Yea, it does get annoying, but they normally don't happen in front of anyone, so whatever I said, I'm really sorry."

"You spoke a different language."

"I did?" He nods. "It was probably Italian."

"You said something about being born there."

"Wow. I told you a lot."

"Were you really born there?"

"Yea, my dad was stationed at Camp Darby. We spent 8 years there. La mia prima lingua è in italiano."

"What does that mean?"

"It means 'my first language is Italian'."

"That's so cool. I wish I picked up a language."

"Maybe I can give you some lessons." I smile and he smirks at me.

"I would love that."

"Sarà il mio piacere." He smirks at me again and I can see why every girl in high school was into him.

"What does that mean?"

"It means, 'it'll be my pleasure'."

We sit there and talk for a couple more hours until the sun goes down. We walk out of the coffee shop and I don't want to leave. We both linger for a little before he talks again.

"I had a great time today Clary, and I'd love to do this again."

"I would like that a lot."

"How about I take you out to dinner tomorrow night."

"Sounds perfect."

"Text me your address, and I'll pick you up at 7." He leans down and kisses me on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow Clary."

"Ci vediamo domani Jace." He looks at me and it's my turn to smirk before getting into my car and driving back to base. I get home, get out of my fatigues and realize that I have a date with Jace tomorrow night and I haven't dated since Mark. I pull out my phone and text Izzy.

 **Clary-** Hey Iz, I have a date tomorrow and I don't know what to wear.

 **Izzy-** That's so exciting! Is it a fellow Army stud?

 **Clary-** No, it's actually with Jace.

 **Izzy-** My brother Jace?! That's so exciting!

 **Clary-** Have any suggestions?

 **Izzy-** Knowing Jace, he won't take you anywhere fancy, so I would just go with a pair of leggings and a cute top. I can come over now if you want!

 **Clary-** Okay. Just tell the guard at the entrance of the base who you're here to see.

 **Izzy-** See you in 10 minutes!

I put my phone down and head to the kitchen to make some dinner. Sure enough 10 minutes later Izzy knocks on my front door. I open it and she walks in talking about the guard at the gate being cute.

"Who was on duty again?" I ask as I make two plates of food for us.

"Private First Class Simon Lewis. Talk about a hottie." We eat our food while making small talk. I grab our dishes and put them in the sink when Izzy makes her way to my closet. "Okay, so I haven't talked to Jace, but he isn't a very romantic guy, so he won't take you to some high class place, he'll keep it causal at first, although he hasn't been on a date in years."

"Really?"

"Really. After high school he threw himself into school to get his degree. It worked too. He is one of the top lawyers at his firm. He might have been a fuck up in high school but he got his shit together for college, and law school."

"That's impressive."

"Yea. So wear leggings and this shirt." She holds up an emerald green fitted shirt that matched with my eyes perfectly. "And curl your hair. It'll look super cute."

"Thanks Izzy. To be honest, I never really thought we'd ever be friends."

"Me either. But I'm glad we are. To bad we didn't realize that senior year of high school."

"Yea. I was a different person back than. Very sick, very antisocial, paranoid, and just in a very dark place. It took me awhile to find myself."

"What happened?"

"That's a story for a different day."

"Okay, well I hope you have fun on your date tomorrow night Clary. And if Jace starts acting like a jerk, text me and I'll personally kick him in the balls." We hugged and he left. About 15 minutes later I get a text from her.

 **Izzy-** Got Private First Class Hotties number. You might be seeing me a lot more around this base.

 **Clary-** Proud of you!

I lay in bed thinking about tomorrow night and how if I continue this relationship with Jace, or whatever this is, he's going to find out about my past, and about my issues, and I can't help but feel anxious about someone as perfect as Jace learning about my demons.

 _Translation:_

 _Ci vediamo domani- See you tomorrow_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

 **Jace POV:**

Tonight was my date with Clary and to be honest, I have never been so nervous. It's been years since I've been with a girl, let alone dated one. I was in my office working on a case when there was a knock on my door.

"Come in." I call and Alec and Izzy walk in. "Izzy? What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. Can't I check on my brother?"

"Not without your own agenda sis." They both take a seat on my couch and look at me. "What?"

"I hear you have a date with Clary tonight." I look at him, and immediately look over at Izzy, who has a huge smile on her face. "Gotta say, I didn't see that coming."

"Neither did I, but I ran into her in the airport two weeks ago, and I asked her out for some coffee and I really enjoyed it, so I asked her to go to dinner."

"You've known her for like a week Jace. Isn't it too early to be dating her?" Alec had never approved of the girls that I date, so I'm not surprised by his attitude towards Clary.

"Technically I've known her for years. She was our waitress at that restaurant for a long time, and that is the whole point of dating Alec. To get to know the person." I look up at him. "I really like her. And I don't have the best track record with girls, but something with her feels different. I want to see where it goes."

"Just tread lightly Jace. I was with her last night, and it sounds like she didn't have a good experience with guys in the past. So don't be your normal douchy self with her. Be sweet."

"You were with her last night?" I asked feeling shocked, since when did they get close.

"Yes. She was the one who told me about your date. Plus, we're becoming friends. I like her. She's great, so be nice to her. Don't scare her away."

"Trust me Iz, I have no intention of scaring her away." They left shortly after that, and I went through the rest of my day like I normally would. By the time 6 o'clock rolled around I left my office and headed home. I changed out of my suit, took a shower, and put on jeans, a white shirt and m leather jacket. I headed over to Clary's and when I drove up to the gate I instantly got nervous again.

"Name?" The man asked me.

"Jace Herondale."

"Reason for visit?"

"I'm here to see Clarissa Morgenstern." At the mention of her name the guard instantly stood up straighter, I didn't understand for a minute but than I remembered whom her father was.

"Go right through Mr. Herondale." I thank him than pulled up to her house. I walked up and knocked on the door. She answered it and I couldn't help but look her up and down. She was wearing leggings, with an emerald green top and white chucks. Her hair was curled and she was wearing just the right amount of make up. She looked beautiful and perfect.

"Hey." She finally said which brought me back to reality.

"Hey, you look beautiful."

"La ringrazio." She said and I smirked. She looked at me. "First phrase I'm gonna teach you. It means 'thank you'."

"You're very welcome. Are you ready to go?" She nods and we make our way out to my car. We drive back up to the gate where we're stopped again.

"Good evening Miss. Morgenstern. How are you today?"

"I'm good Vince. How are you?"

"I'm good ma'am. Have a good night."

"You too." We drive off the base and are on our way to a nice restaurant in the city.

"Do you always get that treatment?"

"Yea. Being the generals daughter everyone treats you differently."

"I bet that kinda sucks sometimes."

"Yea, but it does have its perks." She smiles at me and we pull into the restaurant. We are seated and after a few moments are start talking.

"So, I'm gonna be honest with you, I was incredibly nervous for this date tonight." She smiled at me and let a little laugh out.

"Really? Why?"

"I haven't dated in awhile, and even before that I wasn't really the type to date. I was more of a one night stand kind of guy. Not to mention you are probably the most beautiful girl I've ever met." She blushed and looked away.

"I was nervous too. You are literally the most perfect human being on this planet, and well, I'm me."

"You're selling yourself short Clary." I was about to continue when the waitress came over.

"Can I start you two off with something to drink?" I look at Clary and she looks at the waitress.

"Diet Coke please."

"Just water for me."

"No lemon in either of them!" Clary said and the waitress nodded. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I waited on you for over a year Jace, I know you don't like lemon in your water." I laughed and I turned the conversation back to Clary.

"Back to what I was saying, you are a beautiful woman Clary, never under estimate that."

"I guess I just don't have the greatest image of myself in my head, I've been told to many times otherwise."

"What do you mean?"

"It's kind of a sad story, I promise I'll tell you one day. But I don't want to ruin dinner." She smiles and I let it go.

 **Clary POV:**

"So, how long until I'm fluent in Italian?" I smile at him and laugh.

"That depends, are you a fast learner?"

"Only when it comes to things I'm interested in."

"And does the Italian language interest you?"

"Yes, and so do you." He smirks and I blush again.

"That was smooth. I must admit." I was about to continue when my phone rang. I took it out of my pocket and groaned. "I'm sorry, it's my dad I have to take this." He nods and I answer my phone. "Hey dad."

"Clarissa, I just heard from one of the officers that you went out with a boy tonight. Is that true?"

"Papà, sto 24 anni mi è permesso per data." I look at him and mouth I'm sorry before my father continues.

"But I don't know him Clarissa."

"Questa è la nostra seconda data di papà, sto solo conoscere lui."

"I want to meet him Clarissa."

"Dovrò parlare con lui più tardi. Non voglio spaventare fuori lui, ho davvero come lui papà."

"Let me know what he will be visiting For Drum. I love you Clarissa."

"Ti amo papà." I hang up the phone and look at Jace. "I'm really sorry about that. One of the officers told him I was on a date tonight and he freaked out."

"They do that sort of thing?"

"Yea, one of the downsides of being the generals daughter." I take a sip of my drink. "He wants to meet you." He nearly chokes on his drink. "I told him this was literally our second date, but he gets weird about me dating after my last boyfriend."

"Was it that bad?" I nod. "Will you tell me about it after dinner? We can take a walk in the park and just talk."

"Sure, I'd like that." We finish out dinner with light conversation. We laugh and talk and it was really nice. I feel like I've known him forever. We head out of the restaurant and he grabs my hand and we begin to walk through the park. "I was 15. My father was stationed on Fort Knox in Kentucky. I was a sophomore in high school and I met Mark. He was really nice to me, and we got along really well. We started dating a couple weeks after that and it was really great. But a couple months after we started dating he would get really controlling. He hated that I lived on a military base. He couldn't access me and keep an eye on me and it pissed him off." We reached a bench and we sat down. He put his arm around me, but I held onto his other hand. "He hated that I talked to other guys. One day he saw me talking to my partner for my English project and he snapped. I'd never seen him so angry. That was the first time he hit me." I could feel Jace's body stiffen beside me. "I brushed it off, thinking it wouldn't happen again. But the abuse didn't stop there. He constantly told me how fat I was, and he made sure that I wasn't ever going to find someone as great as him. A few days later I started to purge after my meals. The first time it was so disgusting but I knew that Mark wanted me to be skinny, so I kept doing it."

"Are you better now?" I looked down at his hand and played with his fingers.

"I did it the week after Jonathan's funeral. It's a control thing. I felt like I couldn't control anything, but I could control that. I know, it was wrong, and I honestly stopped in high school, but I was losing it, and it was the only thing I could do." I took a deep breath and I felt Jace rub my shoulder. "One day after school I was at Mark's house, and he got pissed at me. I don't even remember the reason but he was so angry. He grabbed me by my throat and shoved me against a wall. He kept yelling at me, and started squeezing my throat even tighter. I couldn't breath, and he didn't care. It just kept getting tighter. I passed out. And the next thing I remember was waking up to him kicking me in the stomach. When he finally calmed down he kicked me out of his house. I told my parents that I was staying at a friends house that night but ended up sleeping in a park. I couldn't face my family with those bruises on my neck. The next day I skipped school, brought a shit ton of make up to cover up the evidence."

"What did you do?"

"Luckily, my father was in the middle of being stationed on Fort Carson in Colorado. It was perfect. I got away, but it caused severe anxiety. That's where the attacks stem from. I never told my parents why they started. They just think it's a natural thing. I never had the courage to let them know, and god I couldn't tell my brothers. They would flip shit. So I just dealt with them. I would hide in my closet when they came and when they were over I would notice that my entire room was spotless. I can't control them, I can feel it forming in my chest and before I can do anything, I black out."

"I'm really sorry you went through that."

"By the time we were stationed here in New York I was in a very dark place. Between the purging, and the self-hatred and the anxiety I just wanted to get out of the army. I wanted to leave and live my life the way a normal kid would. I went to the University of Arizona, studied intelligence studies with a minor in political studies. When I graduated I was drawn to New York City. It was chaotic, and noisy, everything the army wasn't. It was exactly what I needed. I started working as a waitress until I enlisted in the army."

"Well Mark was wrong. You are incredibly beautiful, and he should have never had the opportunity to have someone as wonderful as you."

"He was my first and last boyfriend. I could never trust another guy after him. Especially since I was only 15, so impressionable and vulnerable. I never felt safe enough around guys."

"What about me?"

"Mi sento sicuro intorno a te." I look up and he smiles at me.

"What does that mean?"

"It means 'I feel safe around you'." I trace a circle in the palm of his hand. We're silent for a minute before he speaks.

"Can I kiss you?"

"Si." He leans over and his lips touch mine and instantly I could feel the electricity running through my body. I lean into the kiss and my free hand find the side of his face. We kiss for what seems like forever before we break apart.

"So Clarissa Morgenstern, would you like to do this again?"

"Molto." He looks at me and I smile "Very much so." We stand up and he takes my hand again and leads me back to his car. We get back to my place, it is now around 11 o'clock. "Would you like to come in?"

"I would love too." He comes into my house where we put on the TV and cuddle up on the couch. It feels like we've known each other forever, nothing felt awkward, it just felt right. Before I know it I'm falling asleep, curled up next to Jace, warm and for the first time feeling safer than I have in a long time.

 _Translation:_

 _Papà, sto 24 anni mi è permesso per data- Dad, I'm 24 years old, I'm allowed to date_

 _Questa è la nostra seconda data di papà, sto solo conoscere lui- This is our second date dad, I'm just getting to know him_

 _Dovrò parlare con lui più tardi. Non voglio spaventare fuori lui, ho davvero come lui papà- I'll talk to him later about that. I don't want to scare him off, I really like him daddy._

 _Si- Yes_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

 **Time Jump- Six Months Later**

 **Clary POV:**

It's been six months since Jace and I have been seeing each other and its been a pretty damn good six months. My father had still been pestering me about meeting Jace, and I knew that I was only a matter of time before I walked into my house and he was standing there so I talked to Jace and we decided to make a trip up to Fort Drum this weekend, and to be honest I was really nervous. I really wanted my parents to approve of Jace. The drive was long but it wasn't that bad. We pulled up to the gate and I recognized Luke immediately.

"Hey Luke, how are you?"

"I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm really good. This is Jace, my boyfriend." I looked at Jace. "This is Luke, close family friend, and the one who delivered the bad news."

"It's nice to meet you Luke."

"You too Jace. Go right through Clary, your father is expecting you." We say our goodbyes and I direct Jace to the house. It's a huge house, and I looked over and could see Jace's body stiffen. We got out of the car and grabbed out bags and went inside.

"Papà sto a casa." I call out and I hear footsteps. My mom steps around the corner with her arms opened.

"È così bello vedere il tuo bambino." She says as she hugs me.

"Anche voi." I step back next to Jace. "Mom, this is Jace, Jace this is my mother."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Morgenstern."

"Please, call me Jocelyn. It's a pleasure to finally meet you as well Jace." She directs us to our bedroom and says she's going to go find my dad and leaves us alone.

"So, that wasn't so bad was it?" I ask as I snake my arms around his waist.

"No, but I have a feeling your dad is going to be worse."

"Don't let him intimidate you. He is a general, so he's used to people cowering at his presence, but just be calm. He'll like you. You're smart, successful, charming. You have nothing to worry about." I lean up and give him a quick kiss before heading back downstairs. We walk into the living room where I hear my parents talking. I put my finger to my lips telling Jace to be quiet as I listen.

"Valentino sei essendo irragionevole." I hear my mother say.

"No io non sono Jocelyn."

"Non sai nemmeno l'uomo."

"Non devo conoscere lui a conoscere non mi piace di lui." I shake my head and look at Jace.

"Egli sembra molto dolce, e lui fa Clary felici, non basta?"

"Non sappiamo nulla di lui, per tutti sappiamo che egli potrebbe essere un bum." I finally had enough before I made myself known to my parents.

"Egli non è un pezzente, egli è un avvocato. Un certo successo a che." They both froze and look at Jace and I.

"Clary." My dad starts but I cut him off.

"Cercate di conoscerlo prima di scrivere completamente fuori lui."

"Clarissa, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to Jace." I see my father stiffen and I knew that's not what he wanted to hear.

"I'm sorry I misjudged you Jace, but she's my little girl. You can't blame me for being cautious."

"I don't blame you at all sir."

"Now that that's settled, lets eat." We all sit down at the table and have dinner. I never brought a boy home before, so I had no idea how my father was going to be but everything seemed to be running smoothly. They talked about Jace's career and my fathers career. Manly things that I really didn't care for, but it was nice that they were getting alone. My phone buzzed and I looked down to see that it was from my commanding officer.

"Excuse me guys, but I have to take this." They nodded and I excused myself into the next room. "Hello sir?"

"Morgenstern, you're needed back in Iraq. Immediately."

"When sir?"

"Five days from now is when your flight leaves."

"For how long?"

"Six months."

"Yes sir." I sigh and make my way back into the dinning room where I take my seat and my mother looks at me and notices my demeanor change. Don't get me wrong, I love serving my country, but I have something I have to leave behind this time, and that's going to suck a lot.

"What's wrong baby?"

"I'm being deployed. I'm needed back in Iraq ASAP."

"For how long?"

"Six months. I leave in five days." My father tells me it's okay if we cut this vacation short so I have time to pack my things, and I just nod. After dinner Jace and I head up to our room and I lay on the bed.

"What's wrong?" He asks and I look at him.

"I'm leaving."

"I know."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"I knew there was a chance of you being deployed when we first went out to coffee. I knew you'd be leaving again at some point. It's part of your job, and I respect your job. Is it going to suck? Absolutely. But we can do this. Just remember that I'll be waiting when you get back."

He kissed me and I kissed him back. We cuddled up on the bed and just let each others presence sink in, knowing that in five days I'd be gone for six months. The next day we loaded the car up and headed back to Fort Hamilton. Once I got all my things out of Jace's car he told me that he needed to head home for a bit but that he'd be back to spend the last four days with me. After the door was closed I plopped down on the couch and turned the TV on, just waiting for Jace to get back so I could be held by him.

 **Jace POV:**

After leaving Clary's I went back to my apartment to see Alec and Izzy sitting on the couch. They looked confused when I walked in and I couldn't blame them. I was supposed to be gone for three days.

"Why are you here?" Izzy asks.

"Clary is deploying in four days and needed to come home to get ready."

"Damn, that sucks. I'm sorry about that, but I know how you feel. You know that Private First Class I've been casually seeing lately? He's deploying in a month." I nod, not really knowing what else to say to her.

"So I'll be spending all my time at Clary's until she's gone, so don't ruin this place."

"Wouldn't dream of it dude." Alec says and I grab some suits and make my way to the door.

"Alright, I'll be back in four days. See you guys later."

"Bye man."

I made my way back to my car and drove back to Clary's. I walked in and see Clary sleeping on the couch. I put my things in her room and make my way back downstairs and sit next to her.

"Clary. Wake up babe." She stirs a little but doesn't wake up. "Clary, come on wake up!" I say a little louder.

"Non voglio troppo." She answers and I laugh. I have no idea what she said.

"You know I can't speak Italian yet. Wake up sleepy head." She sits up and rubs her eyes.

"Hey."

"Hey. You know, it's not fair that even when you're sleeping you speak Italian."

"I'm sorry. It's the first thing that pops into my head. I think to myself in Italian, sometimes I can't turn it off." I laugh and she curls into my side. We stay like that for the rest of the night. Knowing that for six months I'd be going to bed alone, and only talking to her for a couple minutes here and there.

 _Translation:_

 _Papà sto a casa- Dad I'm home_

 _È così bello vedere il tuo bambino- It's good to see you baby_

 _Anche voi- You too_

 _Valentino sei essendo irragionevole- Valentine you're being unreasonable_

 _No io non sono Jocelyn- No I'm not Jocelyn_

 _Non sai nemmeno l'uomo- You don't even know the man_

 _Non devo conoscere lui a conoscere non mi piace di lui- I don't have to know him to know I don't like him_

 _Egli sembra molto dolce, e lui fa Clary felici, non basta?- He seems really sweet, and he makes Clary happy, isn't that enough?_

 _Non sappiamo nulla di lui, per tutti sappiamo che egli potrebbe essere un bum- We don't know anything about him, for all we know he could be a bum_

 _Egli non è un pezzente, egli è un avvocato. Un certo successo a che- He isn't a bum, he's a lawyer, a rather successful one at that_

 _Cercate di conoscerlo prima di scrivere completamente fuori lui- Get to know him before you completely write him off_

 _Non voglio troppo- I don't want too_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

 **Time Jump- Three Months Later**

 **Jace POV:**

Clary has been gone for three months and it's been tough. I miss her like crazy, and I never know whether she is going to be okay or not. I remember her telling me about the ambush she was involved in and now I can't stop thinking about that since the day she left.

 **Flashback:**

 _We were sitting at her kitchen table. Eating dinner like we did almost every night together. We were a rather domesticated couple at this point. It was nice, to have someone to call at the end of the day, or to fall asleep too at night, someone who genuinely wanted your company, and that's how I felt about Clary, I loved having her around. She started to tell me the story._

 _"I was in a Humvee, we were on our way to another camp. They needed my help, so me and four other men were on our way when we were ambushed." She looked down at her cup of coffee. "I had no idea what was going on. I wasn't trained in combat, I mean I grew up in the army but I was never trained. They wanted my brain not my muscle. A friend of mine, Jack, was shielding me. He was hit, twice in the chest. He bled out in my arms. He was the first death I saw over there. I still see him sometimes when I close my eyes at night."_

 _"I'm so sorry Clary." I reach across the table and grab her hand. "Nobody should have to witness that."_

 _"It's the cost of war. It happens. I just never thought I'd ever experience it as an intelligence analyst." She let out a small laugh. "I thought I was safe behind a computer or some monitors. I never thought I'd see combat. It scared the hell out of me."_

 _"I bet babe."_

 _"I just kept repeating the same phrase over and over in my mind until we reached the camp. Non sono stato io. It means, 'it wasn't me' and I had to keep telling myself that to keep the anxiety away. I couldn't have an attack in the middle of the desert. It was hard, but I made it to the camp without having an attack."_

 _"That's a huge step." She smiled at me and I changed the topic. I knew it was hard for her. I could tell her and Jack must have been friends, and seeing a friend of yours die in your arms must be touch._

 **End of Flashback**

I was pulled out of the flashback when there was a knock on my door. I told them to come in and Alec was standing in my doorway.

"What's up man?"

"You ready for lunch?" I look at my clock and see that it is indeed lunchtime.

"Yea. I'm ready." We got to the restaurant and met Izzy there. We sat in our normal booth and ordered our usual.

"Have you talked to Clary recently?" Izzy asks.

"No. We haven't been about to talk in about two weeks. She said something about her being involved in a classified mission. Said she'd be off the grid for a little while."

"Wow. That must be hard."

"Incredibly. I'm used to as least getting something, whether it be a phone call, or a letter, but being completely shut off is killing me." I look at Izzy and she is looking at me with this strange look on her face. "What?"

"You love her don't you? Like you're in love with her." He question caught me off guard but she was right. Spending those six months with her, getting to know her, and than her leaving. I feel like there is something missing, a piece of me is with her. I've never been in love before, or even had any feelings remotely close to this, but I know that this is what I feels like to be in love.

"I do. I really do." I smiled and I hear Izzy squeal.

"This is so exciting! Jace Herondale is finally in love! I always thought it would be impossible. I thought you'd be alone forever!"

"Thanks for the confidence in me Iz. And if you haven't noticed women try and throw themselves at me often. It would be easy to get a girlfriend."

"Yes, but if you really wanted any of those whores you'd of had them already. Clary is different."

"Yes she is." I smile at myself, and look down. "And I plan on keeping her for as long as I can. I just hope she makes it home safely."

"She will Jace. You just have to have some faith." I nod and we continue to eat. I have never been a religious person, but I pray everyday that Clary makes it home safely. I need her to know how much I love her, and how I never want to spend a day without her.

 **Time Jump- Two Months Later**

I still haven't heard from Clary, and I was starting to get worried. I decided that I was going to take a trip to Fort Drum and talk to her parents. I also wanted to talk to them, see if General Morgenstern knew anything about Clary and to ask for their blessing. I pulled up to the gate and was let in and made my way to the Morgenstern's house. I got out of my car and knocked on the door.

"Jace. What a surprise. What are you doing here?"

"I had a few questions for you, and I thought I'd stop by and visit."

"Well it's wonderful to have you. Please come in. Valentine! Jace is here!" She calls and Valentine steps around the corner.

"Jace, what a surprise. What brings you here?"

"I have a few questions for you sir, regarding Clary." He leads me into the living room and we take a seat.

"What's on your mind son?"

"I haven't heard from Clary in over two months sir. I'm not family, so I don't get notified if something happened and it's been driving me crazy not knowing."

"Shit. Jace, there is something you should know." My heart sank and I don't think I'm prepared for what he's going to tell me. "There was a incident that involved the capture of three intelligence analysts and a sergeant. Clary was among the analysts. They've been searching for them for about a month and a half now, but there is still no word."

"Do you think she is still alive?"

"We have reason to believe she is still alive."

"And what reason is that?"

"The last two kills they have recorded and sent to us." My jaw dropped and I think I was about to throw up.

"Two kills?"

"Yes. Until we have video proof, we have every reason to believe that two intelligence analysts are still alive." I was dumbfounded, and he could see it written all over my face. "You said you had some questions, what else is on your mind?"

"I wanted your blessing. I want to ask Clary to marry me." A small smile crept across his face. Over the past five months Valentine and I have formed a good relationship.

"Jace, you have to know, there is a chance she won't come back." She chocked up on the last word. "She might not survive." Just at that moment a knock came at the door. "Excuse me." I nodded and I heard him open the door and I could hear the conversation.

"Sir, there has been another video."

"Was it?"

"No sir, it wasn't your daughter, but this is the third killing. I'll kept you updated if anything else happens."

"Thank you Major Collins." I hear the door close and Valentine reappears. "Did you hear that?" I nod. "She is running out of time. Non riesco a credere che potrebbe perdere il mio bambino." His head is between his hands.

"Pardon me sir?"

"Oh sorry. I keep forgetting you don't know Italian."

"Not yet anyway. Mind if I ask what you said?"

"I said 'I can't believe I could lose my baby'."

"Faith Valentine. It's what's been getting me through the past couple months." He nods his head and we sit in silence.

"Oh, and you have my blessing. I hope you get to ask her son. I really do." I smile at him and start up the usual small talk.

I stayed there for three days before I went home. I walked into the office looking like a zombie on Monday morning. I could barely sleep knowing that Clary was probably being tortured in some desert chamber 7 thousand miles away. I'm sitting at my desk starring at a wall when Alec walks in.

"Hey man, how was the visit with Clary's parents?" I didn't answer and just shook my head. "Did they deny you their blessing?" He said with lightness in his voice but I couldn't react, I shook my head again. "Come on man, what happened?"

"Clary. She's been missing for a couple months. Her mission went sideways, and three intelligence analysts and a sergeant were captured. So far three of them have been killed."

"I'm so sorry Jace."

"Valentine told me he'd keep me in the loop. I didn't even get the chance to tell her I love her man. And now I might not get that opportunity."

"You can't think like that man. She's tough, she can make it." I look at him and I think he can see the desperation in my eyes. "Come on, lets get some lunch." I nod and make my way out of the office.

 **Time Jump- One Month Later**

Still no word on Clary but I'm trying my best to not think so negatively. It isn't helping her, or me and I know that if I keep thinking about it it'll just drive me mad. I have this huge case coming up and I can't get distracted.

"Jace," my assistant says as she enters my office. "There is a man here to see you. Says its urgent."

"Send him in Camille." I don't look up from my desk thinking it's my client when I hear their throat clear. I look up. "Valentine." I'm shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you'd like to hear the news from me." My heart sank and tears filled my eyes, I was about to find out if my girlfriend was dead or alive. The whole office was silent, and nobody dared make a sound. I saw Alec and Izzy standing together by the window, eyes fixed on me, I suck in a breath before he delivers the news.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

 **Jace POV:**

"Please Valentine. I need to know." I say as he stands in the middle of the office not speaking. I start mentally preparing myself for what he is about to say. He takes a deep breath and continues.

"Jace, Intelligence Analyst Clarissa Morgenstern was recovered at 22 hundred hours last night and transported to a army hospital in Germany." As he said the words I let out a breath that I didn't realize I was holding and sank into my chair. She was alive. "She will be home within the next couple of days. She's pretty beat up, but the doctors say she will make a full recovery."

"Thank you so much for coming here and telling me Valentine. I appreciate it."

"Of course son. Hanno un grande giorno." I smile, knowing what that phrase meant. I walk him to the elevator before answering.

"Anche voi." He smiles and claps a hand on my back. I walk back to my office and lean against the doorframe and take a breather while Izzy and Alec make their way over to me.

"So she's alright?" Izzy asks and I nod my head.

"She's in a hospital in Germany right now, but Valentine says she should be home in a couple days."

"That's really great news Jace." Alec says and I nod. "Oh, and when did you start speaking Italian?"

"It's kind of like a requirement in the Morgenstern household." I laugh as I scratch the back of my head. "I've picked up on a few phrases. I'm learning." I settle back into my office and finish working on my case when my phone rings, I don't even bother looking as I answer. "Jace Herondale speaking."

"Jace?"

"Clary? Oh my god. Are you alright babe?"

"I'm okay. Tired, and sore, and in a little bit of pain, but I'm alive." She lets out a small laugh and I can't even begin to describe how amazing it is to hear her voice. Before I can even think the words fly right out of my mouth.

"I love you Clary." I hear her gasp and then let out a little laugh.

"I love you too Jace."

"I'm so happy to hear that you're okay. I was going crazy."

"You don't know how many times I wished I could call you and tell how much I missed you, or how much I needed you, or how much I love you. I thought I was going to die before I got to chance to tell you."

"I kept thinking the same thing. I can't wait until you come home babe."

"Me either. I should be home within the next day." I could hear her begin to speak but cut herself off.

"What's on your mind babe?"

"I was wondering, could you stay with me for awhile? Every time I fall asleep I wake up screaming, or sweating or crying."

"I would love to stay with you. For however long you want me there."

"How does forever sound?" She sounds scared to ask, but I just smile and shake my head.

"It sounds perfect Clary. I'll get the house ready for you arrival."

"Thank you Jace. Hey, I have to go. I'll call you when I'm about to be released. I love you."

"I love you too." I hang up the phone and sit back in my chair. I walk out of my office and into Alec's. "Hey man, I just heard from Clary."

"How is she?"

"She's good. Tired, in pain, sore. And I think she just asked me to move in with her."

"Really?"

"Yea. She asked me to stay with her for awhile because she's having trouble sleeping, and I told her I'd stay with her for however long she wanted and she asked me if forever sounded good."

"What did you say?"

"I said it sounded perfect. I mean, if I'm going to ask her to marry me, we're going to need to move in together eventually, and you know that means I'll be moving to the base."

"What should I do with our apartment?"

"Keep it. It's paid in full, and it's a nice place. Close to work, big, and one day whenever you decide to let us know that you're gay and finally get a boyfriend, you can already have a place to live."

"How did you know?"

"Alec, you're my brother, my best friend. I know you better than anyone."

"And you're cool with it?"

"You are still the same Alec that I used to play cops and robbers with, the same Alec who played football with me, and the same Alec who is a damn good lawyer. Who you love doesn't change a thing."

"I can't tell you how much of a relief it is to hear you say that."

"Why?"

"Cause you know what mom and dad would say."

"Alec, you are 25 years old, it's your life. If mom and dad don't agree with your life choices, who cares. Don't live for them, live for you."

"How am I going to tell Izzy?" He asks and I just laugh.

"Izzy has known for years Alec. We had a bet all throughout high school on when you would finally come out."

"Wow. Thanks guys."

"I won by the way."

"Huh?"

"She said you'd come out your senior year, I bet her that someone would have to tell you you're gay before you admitted it yourself. So thank you Alec, I just won 20 bucks and eternal bragging rights."

"You're such an asshole Jace."

"Yes, but you love me nonetheless." I clapped my hand on the back of his shoulder and lead him out of his office and over to the restaurant where we were meeting Izzy for lunch. We got there and sat down and I couldn't help but smile while staring at Izzy.

"You're creeping me out Jace. What's going on?"

"You owe me 20 bucks."

"Why?"

"Oh just a little bet we made in high school about our dear brother Alexander."

"What the hell Alec? How could you let him win?"

"I had no idea you two had a bet going on."

"But you couldn't have just came out during high school? I'll never live this down!" She whined as she handed me 20 bucks. "How did it happen by the way?"

"Well, Jace here is moving in with Clary, and I asked what I should do with our apartment and he told me to keep it incase I ever decide to get a boyfriend."

"You're moving in with Clary?!"

"I think so, she asked me if I would stay with her for a little while and I told her I'd be around for as long as she needed me and she asked if forever was a good amount of time."

"That is so cute! When did you talk to her?"

"About an hour ago. She called. And god was it good to hear her voice."

"You guys are seriously adorable. I can't wait for your wedding."

"Slow down Iz, I haven't asked her yet."

"But you will, and she'll say yes, and it'll be absolutely perfect!"

I laugh and we continue eating. I take a half day and go back to my place and start packing all my things. I pile it all in my car and head over to Clary's. When I pull up I start unloading everything. Clary wasn't the neatest person in the world, but I found a place for all of my things. I cleaned the house, and stocked her kitchen and remade her bed, did whatever laundry was left around by her. I wanted the house to be perfect for when she came home. _Home._ I looked around and realized that this was my new home. This is where Clary and I were going to make all of our memories. We'd laugh here, and cry here. We receive good news, and bad news here. Start a family here and have a future here. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of finally starting my life with Clary.

 _Translation:_

 _Hanno un grande giorno- Have a great day_

 _Anche voi- You too_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

 **Clary POV:**

I was on an airplane getting ready to land in New York, I had called Jace earlier to let him know what time I'd be arriving. I was nervous. It's been almost six months since I've seen him and I've changed a lot. Being held captive was the worst experience of my whole life. I was tortured and starved, beaten, and assaulted, and I had no idea how Jace was going to be able to handle me now. I didn't know if he was going to stay, or at the first sign of trouble he would up and leave. In my heart I knew that Jace wasn't the type of guy to bail when things got rough, but my mind just kept playing different scenarios in my head of what he could do.

The plane landed and I grabbed my bag and got off. I started walking towards the exit when I was thanked, and saluted, and cheered for. I smiled, and waved, and saluted back. When I turned my head there he was. I drank in his appearance, and I couldn't help but smile to myself. He looked better than ever, I made my way over to him and before I could say a word his lips were on mine. We stayed like that for a couple minutes before we broke apart. I looked into his eyes and smiled.

"Ti amo così tanto." He said and tears welled up in my eyes.

"Ti amo troppo." I smiled back at him, he grabbed my bags and my hand and lead me out of the airport. We make it back to base and into my house. Jace places my bag on the ground and I stand there for a couple minutes just soaking in my house, and how much I missed it. I looked around and noticed things that weren't there before I left. After looking around I met Jace's gaze.

"Are these your things?"

"Yea. I figured if you wanted me to stay for awhile, I'd bring some of my things over."

"I think I want you to stay a little longer than awhile." I went over to the desk and pulled out an envelope. I handed it to Jace and he looked confused.

"What's this?"

"I did it before I deployed. I was going to ask if you wanted to move in together after I got back. It's your military ID. Giving you access to the base. There is a new license in there with my address, and some other things, like car registration. Everything that says you live on this base. If that's what you want." He was looking through everything and finally his eyes met mine.

"I would love to move in with you Clary." I walked over to me and kissed me. "To be honest, I already moved in. My clothes are all upstairs and I found a place for everything."

"Good. That means we can relax in our house for the rest of the day."

"I would love that." He kissed me again, and I got myself settled on the couch while he made dinner. I let out a relieved sigh, everything was going to be okay, even if it takes awhile.

 **Time Jump-Two Months**

 **Jace POV:**

Living with Clary was surprisingly easy, nothing like living with Alec. Although she was a tad messy, it was nothing that I couldn't handle. Tonight was the night that I planned on asking Clary to marry me. I had talked to her parents, and they were making to trip from Fort Drum and meeting us at the park so they could witness the proposal. I was going to take her to the same place we went to after our first day a little over a year ago. I had taken on an extra case to keep me busy so I wasn't sitting around twittling my thumbs with anxiousness before dinner tonight. Six o'clock rolled around crazy fast and I was heading home to meet Clary. When I walked in the front door I looked up at stopped dead in my tracks. Clary was standing at the bottom of the stairs in a black dress, with red heels, that matched her red lips. Her hair was curled and her make up was out of this world.

"Hey. You going to go like that? Or do you need to change?" She asked and I just shook my head and tried to find my voice.

"No, I'm good. Wow. You look amazing."

"Thank you. Izzy helped pick it out." I walked over to her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Remind me to treat that girl to lunch next time I see her." She giggled and I grabbed her hand and led her to my car. We made it to the restaurant and had an amazing time. Being with Clary was as easy as breathing. It came so naturally and despite the hardships we've endured during the past couple months, there is no one else in the world I'd rather have as my wife. After we were done, we walked out of the restaurant and she started to walk to the car. "How about a walk in the park? It's a beautiful night."

"I'd love that." We walked around the park until we made it to the exact bench that we stopped and talked a long time ago.

"Clary, there is something I want to ask you." She looks at me and I can see the confusion in her eyes. "From the moment that I laid eyes on you in that restaurant there was the immediate pull I had towards you. I never acted on it because I didn't want to seem like I creep. So I kept quiet, and it wasn't until I heard you were deploying that I realized that if I lost you, I wouldn't be the same." Tears were welling up in her eyes and I knew they were happy tears. "When we ran into each other at the airport I knew that I had to make my move before I chickened out and it was the greatest decision I've ever made. I love you more than anything Clarissa Morgenstern and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." I pulled out the velvet box in my pocket and opened it. "Ti sposerà me?"

"YES!" She squealed. "Naturalmente ti sposo." I slipped the ring on her finger and pulled her into a kiss. I heard cheers in the background and when I turned around Valentine, Jocelyn, Alec and Izzy were all standing there.

"Benvenuti alla famiglia figlio." Valentine said and pulled is both into a hug.

"La ringrazio." I said and got some strange looks from Alec and Izzy.

"Il mio bambino è così cresciuta fino." Jocelyn said as she whipped the tears from her cheek.

"Mamma e papà non riesco a credere che sei qui." Clary said and hugged them. "Alec, Izzy che sorpresa." She said as she ran and hugged them.

"Hey babe, turn off the Italian, they don't understand you." I said and she just laughed.

"Sorry guys, I got caught up in the moment." She turned to me. "You arranged all of this?"

"Of course I did, I thought your parents should be here to witness it."

"Sei incredibile sapete che?"

"I'm well aware." I kissed her again and looked back at the group. "Now why don't we all head back to our house and celebrate!" Valentine and Jocelyn had snatched Clary to look at the ring while I walked with Alec and Izzy.

"You weren't kidding about the Italian." Alec said and I just shook my head.

"Nope." I laughed. "One time we were having dinner and they spoke in Italian for the majority of it before they realized that I couldn't keep up with the conversation."

"Could you keep up tonight?"

"Yup, I understood everything they were saying." They just nodded their heads and we all got in our cars and made our way back to Fort Hamilton. Valentine and Jocelyn were staying with us while they were visiting and we had a very good time celebrating our engagement. There wasn't anything that I needed at that moment because my life was perfect.

 _Translation:_

 _Ti sposerà me?- Will you marry me?_

 _Naturalmente ti sposo- Of course I'll marry you_

 _Benvenuti alla famiglia figlio- Welcome to the family son_

 _La ringrazio- Thank you_

 _Il mio bambino è così cresciuta fino- My baby is so grown up_

 _Mamma e papà non riesco a credere che sei qui- Mom, dad I can't believe you're here_

 _Alec, Izzy che sorpresa- Alec, Izzy what a surprise_

 _Sei incredibile sapete che- You're amazing you know that?_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

 **Clary POV:**

The Army was giving me a lot of time to recover from the kidnapping and I have to say it was pretty relaxing. I had to go to a therapist once I week, and it seemed to be working. I still woke up with nightmares. Jace has been absolutely amazing through it all. Every time I wake up due to a nightmare he is right there to help me through it and help me get back to sleep. I always felt so bad waking him up but he always reassured me that everything was okay, and that he didn't mind missing out on his beauty sleep to help me.

Jace has been working very long hours lately. He has a huge court date coming up so he goes into the office at 6 am and doesn't get back until after midnight. I've gotten so used to him being around that it feels weird to go to sleep without him. It was around 11 o'clock when I finally decide to go to sleep. I've felt the anxiety in my chest all day, but nothing has happened which I was grateful for. I was brushing my teeth when I could feel an overwhelming sense of anxiety in my chest, and before I knew it, everything went black.

 **Jace POV:**

It was almost 1 am before I was finally on my way home. I felt bad being gone all day, but I had to win this case, and the only way that was going to happen was if I poured everything I had into it. Around 1:15 am I finally got home, and when I unlocked the door I saw and unusual sight. Clary was wide awake and cooking.

"Clary? Why aren't you asleep?" She didn't even look up at me, she just kept cooking.

"If I don't keep cooking, they'll kill me."

"What are you talking about babe?"

"I have to keep cooking, they'll kill me. I promised I would do whatever they wanted if they promised not to kill me." It finally clicked, she must be thinking about what happened when she was kidnapped. She never told me what happened, she said it was too hard to talk about and she wasn't sure I could handle it. I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious, but I wasn't going to take advantage of her while she was having an anxiety attack.

"Clary, it's okay. You're safe. You're at home."

"They killed Jessica. Right in front of me. There was so much blood. They made me clean it up." She was shaking, but she still continued to cook. I went over and touched her side, she flinched at first but I didn't move.

"Babe, come back to me." I whispered in her ear and she froze. I lingered behind her, pressing my body against hers resting my hands on her hips until her body finally relaxed. "Are you back?"

"Yea." She looked down at the stove in front of her. "Why the hell am I cooking eggs? I don't even like eggs." I laughed and shook my head.

"I came home and found you like this." She turned off the stove, removed the pan and turned to face me. "You were talking about being kidnapped."

"Oh." Was all she said. She looked down at her feet for a couple minutes before returning her gaze to me. "What did I tell you?"

"You were talking about how you promised you'd do anything they wanted if they promised not to kill you, than you mentioned a person names Jessica." I felt her body immediately change, clearly Jessica was a sore subject. "You didn't say anything more than that."

"I'm sorry."

"Clary, I know you don't want to talk about it with me, and I know you don't want me to know some things, and I respect that, but I need to know one thing."

"Okay?"

"Did they ever ask you to…um..well you know…" My sentence trailed off, I couldn't get the words out but by the look on her face she knew exactly what I meant.

"Did they every ask me to perform sexual favors?" She asked and I just nodded my head, I couldn't speak. As much as I wanted to know, I also didn't know how much I could handle hearing. "No, they didn't." I released a breath. "Some of them wanted too, but whoever was in charge wouldn't let them. I offered to cook, and clean, and help them with strategies. Anything that men liked women doing, besides anything sexual, I did. It was the only reason they kept me alive." I picked her up bridal style and made our way over to the couch. "They killed Jessica first."

"You don't have to talk about it if you aren't comfortable Clary." I wanted to make sure she knew she didn't have to tell me any of this. I didn't want to push her.

"No, I think you deserve to know. Seeing a therapist opened my eyes and made me realize that you deserve to know. You are my fiancé, and as horrible as that experience was, I want you to know what happened, because you're the one who deals with me every night. Through the nightmares, the crying, the trashing around, and now the anxiety attacks, which is also probably mixed with PTSD. I trust you Jace and I love you. I shouldn't keep those memories from you."

"Take as much time as you need. I'll be here until you decide you want to go back to bed." She nodded and took a deep breath.

"As I said, they killed Jessica first. They wanted her to help them with something, I don't remember what, but she refused. They beat her. Badly. After a day or two they got fed up. They decided she was to much of a hassle to keep around. They put the rest of us in a corner and made us watch them kill her. It was so brutal." She grabbed my hand and started playing with my fingers. "They made us get rid of the body. We buried her behind their camp. Two weeks went by before they tried anything else. I think they were waiting for orders. Lance was next. He was the sergeant. They tried to have him fight with them. Each time he refused they would torture him. He would be dragged out of the room, and return hours later with burn marks all over him. After about two weeks of that, they finally decided that he was useless. They did the same thing to him as they did to Jessica. We had to bury his body too. Meredith was next. We had just been there for about two months when they killed her. One of the men had taken a liking to her. He wanted her to marry him and she refused. I mean, of all the things, she was killed because she refused to marry some guy? They just took her because she was pretty, nothing political, not to prove a point, but just because she was nice to look at. I was disgusted. I had to bury her alone. After I finished with her I was dragged back into the room they were keeping us in. I went months without food. They never asked me for anything, they just kept me in that room. Every now and then they would ask me a question, but they just left me there." She took another deep breath before continuing. "I guess all of the men were out surveying the land, and a younger guy came into the room. He asked me if I could cook, I nodded. He asked me to make him lunch. So I did. He loved it. He told everyone else about my amazing food, and for then on I was the cook, and I cleaned for them, I washed their clothes. I think it saved my life. I was finishing up the laundry was I was rescued. Everyday I just kept thinking about you. I was doing it all because I wanted to get back home to you, to my family, my friends." I held her close while she cried and I couldn't help but be so proud of her and how she handled things and got through them.

"I am so proud of you Clary."

"I was so scared. Every day I would wake up and not know if it was my last day or not." She let out a little laugh. "I kept telling you how much I loved you in my head. It kept me going most days, and other days I fantasied about what our lives would be like if I ever got away. You saved me in a lot of way over there."

"I'm glad I was doing something, because I felt completely and utterly useless here. I even went up to your parents to get any news on you I could." I kissed her temple. "I love you babe, and I'm so glad you were saved."

"I love you too." She kissed my cheek. "Come one, it's almost 3 am, and you have to be up in like two hours, and I haven't slept yet either." She got up off my lap and stretched out her hand.

"I'm going to take a half day tomorrow, well, sorta, I'm going to go in late. I might still come home after midnight."

"I'm sorry I kept you up so late. I know how important this case if for you and Alec."

"This is an important case, but you're way more important than any case ever could be." We reached our room and before she could head to the bed I pulled her against me. "You will always come first to me Clary, no matter how big a case I have, if you need me, you have me. I'll let Alec know I'll be in late."

"But you've been working so hard on this case…." I cut her off.

"The case is coming along great. I'm really confident in it, and so is Alec. Going into the office at 1 pm instead of 6 am won't hinder our case." I kissed her temple. "Plus, we've been busting our asses the past couple weeks on this case, Alec and I both deserve to at least come in late once."

"Okay." She said and I smiled. "Hurry up and get ready, I want to cuddle before I fall asleep." She kissed my cheek and made her way into bed. I laughed and shook my head before heading to the bathroom to get ready. I decided to text Alec now instead of in the morning so he knew that I wasn't kidding about being up late.

 **Jace-** Hey man, I won't be in the office until 1 tomorrow, Clary had a really rough night and we were up late talking and sorting it all out.

I changed out of my suit, brushed my teeth and joined Clary in bed. She instantly curled up into my side and cuddled against me. I pulled her in tighter and I could smell her strawberry scented shampoo. I kissed the top of her head before drifting off to sleep.

I woke up at 9 o'clock and Clary was still asleep next to me. I rubbed my eyes and picked up my phone and noticed I had a message from Alec.

 **Alec-** Alright dude, hope everything is good with Clary. Meet Izzy and I for lunch at the restaurant, bring Clary if she isn't busy. Also, we got new evidence today that you might want to take a look at when you come in. Things just got weird.

I shook my head and put my phone down and rolled over to wake Clary up. After she woke up we laid in bed for about an hour just talking, and it was really nice. After she told me everything last night she seemed like she had just lifted a huge weight off her shoulders and I couldn't blame her. Going through all that would have destroyed me. We finally got up and got showered and ready for the day.

We got to the restaurant and Alec and Izzy were already waiting for us. We sat down and ordered our food and had light conversation, until I couldn't take waiting until I got into the office to know what this new evidence is so I decided to ask Alec.

"So what new evidence appeared?"

"DNA. It was found in the lock of the door. Apparently CSI forgot to swab there the first time, and when they rechecked the scene decided to and found some blood."

"Does it match our client?"

"No. It's someone else's." A huge smile spread across my face.

"What exactly are you working on?" Clary asked and as much as I wish I could come home from work and tell her everything that happened, I couldn't.

"I wish I could tell you, this is on of our biggest cases, but I can't break confidentiality, but you're are more than welcome to come to the trial."

"Oh! I'd love too. I've always wanted to watch you work!" She beams at me and smile. After lunch it was time to get to work. Clary and I didn't think this through and drove one car here, I decided to get a ride home with Alec later so Clary could have to car for the rest of the day. We got back to the office and I followed Alec to his to look over this new evidence.

"I knew Will was innocent. It just wouldn't make sense for him to kill James out of rage because Tessa was leaving James for Will, not the other way around."

"I know, and with all the other evidence we have that can prove Will innocent, now we have DNA evidence that someone else was in that room." I look over the evidence again. "Everyone just loves a jealous lover story and try to spin everything to make it out to be that."

"This case is actually coming together really well. Maybe we can actually call it an early night. The trial starts in a week, and we have everything that we need."

"Agreed. I just hope the jury agrees with us and the evidence." I nod my head and continue to build our case for our client. If we were to lose this case that would be a huge let down. But I can't afford to think like that, everything seemed to be falling into place and all I can do now I hope that everything works out.


	11. Chapter 11

**Alright, I don't want to hear about how everything in this story couldn't possibly happen, it's fiction, half the things in any of these stories couldn't possibly happen! But this is how I picture it happening, and I really like it. So, if you have anything negative to say, please keep it to yourself. Thank you! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter!**

 **Chapter Eleven**

 **Time Jump- Once Week**

 **Clary POV:**

Today was the day that Jace and Alec's trial started. Court was starting at 10 am, and Jace and Alec wanted to be there an hour early to get ready. I walked out of the bathroom and Jace was standing in front of the mirror tying his tie. I walked up behind him and snaked my arms around his torso and kissed his shoulder.

"Are you nervous?" I ask as he finishes tying his tie.

"Very. This is the biggest case we've had and it's a murder case. I want everything to work out in our favor but all I can do is present the evidence and hope the jury agrees with Alec and I."

"I have all the faith in the world in you and Alec. I mean, who could disagree with this face." I say as I cup his face in my hands. He lets out a small laugh and wraps his arms around my waist.

"You're coming right?"

"Of course. Izzy is meeting me here in about 20 minutes and we'll be at the court house at 10."

"Good, I need you there. I've never been this nervous before, and it's a rather personal case."

"Well I'll be there as long as court is in session." I gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "I love you. Kiss some ass today."

"I love you too. I'll see you at the court house." He kissed my forehead before he headed out the door. Twenty minutes later Izzy was in my house and we were having breakfast.

"So, have you and Jace picked the date for your wedding yet?"

"We haven't picked a date, but we picked a season. We want to get married in the spring, so that gives us almost a year to plan."

"This is so exciting! I honestly never thought he would ever settle down."

"Why is that?"

"His reputation in high school wasn't the best. I don't know how much you heard, but he was a man whore, and I just never pictured him falling in love. And when we graduated and he completely stopped fooling around I thought he gave up on women. He didn't date, and Alec said he never even brought a girl home once. I just figured he would be a bachelor forever."

"Oh, I knew his reputation. My brothers were constantly telling me to avoid him as much as possible. It wasn't hard. I was a loner: very introverted and shy."

"What made you accept his invitation for coffee?"

"When he asked he seemed nervous. Like it was a new concept to him. It didn't fit the reputation that I knew in high school at all. So I figured he must have changed."

"I'm glad he finally decided to pluck up the courage to ask you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to him."

"And he's the best thing that ever happened to me."

"You two are literally the cutest." She looked at her watch. "Alright, we should head over to the court house." We gathered our things and headed out the door. When we got there, the place was packed, but we found some seats and sat down. I'm not going to lie, it was a major turn on to see Jace in his suit doing his job.

Finally the trial was under way and the defendant was called up for questioning by the prosecution.

"Mr. Herondale." He started, and I was confused. "Can you please state you relationship with your lawyer."

"He's my cousin."

"Wouldn't you say that is a conflict of interest? Hiring your cousin as your counsel?"

"Objection!" Alec said. "What does this have to do with his charges?"

"Sustained." The judge said and the prosecution continued.

"Answer the question Mr. Herondale."

"I actually hired Alec Lightwood as my lawyer. He brought in Jace Herondale to help him with the case. We had never met before this. We didn't even know the other existed."

"So you're saying that Jace Herondale wouldn't try everything in his power to get his cousin off?"

"I would hope that he would do that regardless of what blood says. I went to Alec Lightwood because I needed a good lawyer to get these charges dropped because I didn't kill James Carstairs." He said the name and I knew it sounded familiar but I couldn't place it. "They happen to be some of the best lawyers in New York, so of course I went to them." I was looking at the jury, trying to read their body language and their micro expressions. It was something that I learned while in Iraq. I picked it up quite easily, and by the looks of it, the jury seemed to be questionable to what William was saying. Juror number 5 was particularly annoyed when Will was up on the stand.

"You're telling me, you had nothing to do with his murder?"

"Why would I kill my best friend? I grew up with Jem. He was my brother. Just because we both fell in love with the same girl doesn't mean I would kill him over that."

"But isn't that just what a jealous friend would do to get the love of his life?"

"But I already had Tessa. Jem was deployed for almost a year and a half. He was off somewhere, and Tessa had no idea. We got close. She couldn't stand Jem being with the Special Forces. It was killing her that she had no idea where he was or when he would be back or even when he had to leave. Can you imagine living that way? Having your boyfriend just up and leave at 3 am and not come back for over a year? We were going to tell Jem that night. We didn't like hiding it from him. We both loved Jem, but Tessa couldn't do it anymore, and that's when we found him." I tuned out the rest of the questions, because I remember meeting a James in Iraq. He was the one who rescued me. He had been following that group of extremists for about a year and a half. Suddenly a memory hit me and everything clicked.

 **Flashback:**

 _As soon as I was back at camp a man walked up to me and handed me a cup of water. I took a sip of it and looked up at him._

 _"Thank you so much for finding me."_

 _"No problem ma'am. I was just doing my job. My names, James, James Carstairs."_

 _"Clary Morgenstern." We shook hands. "I can't tell you how much this means to me. I thought I'd never see my family or my boyfriend again. It's hard enough being deployed but being kidnapped for months, I can't imagine how he must be feeling right now."_

 _"I understand what you mean. Being in Special Forces, I have to leave my girlfriend at a moments notice. Although, I think after this time it might be over between us."_

 _"Why do you say that?"_

 _"Because I know she's unhappy with my job. I love doing it, and I love helping people. But I know it affects her, and I can't say I blame her. As long as she's happy, that's all I care about. My best friend, he is actually crazy in love with her."_

 _"And you're okay with that?"_

 _"He knew how I felt about her and backed off. He wanted me to try and see where it went with her, and I was really happy about it. But this is who I am, and I can't keep asking her to sacrifice her happiness for me. It just isn't fair. If they are happy together, who am I to get in between that."_

 _"Wow. That's actually a pretty amazing thing." My commander called my name and I looked at James. "Thank you again for finding me. It means a lot. I hope everything works out for you James."_

 **End of Flashback**

Will was finally done with being questioned and the judge called a 10 minute recess. I went up to the front to tell Jace what I remembered.

"Jace."

"Hey babe. What's up?"

"I met James Carstairs."

"You what?" Alec, Jace and Will all said at the same time.

"I met him, in Iraq. He was the one who rescued me. It was his Special Forces team, they had been following that group of extremists for a year and a half. We talked. He knew about Will and Tessa." Will looked at me with a shocked expression. "He wasn't mad or upset about it. He knew his relationship with Tessa was over the minute he was called for that mission. He wanted her to be happy, and he didn't care if that meant her leaving him for Will. He had no hard feelings about Will being in love with her while they were together."

"That definitely puts a hole into their case. They are trying to go for Will and James getting into huge fight and Will just snapping and murdering James." Alec says.

"This whole jealousy angle is just completely made up. James wanted her to be happy, Will made her happy, therefore James was happy."

"How would you like to be added to the witness list so you can tell the jury about that? I can add you after today is over and have you up on the stand in the next day or two."

"Sure, anything to help." He kissed me on the cheek. "Oh, and juror number 5 is really not a fan of Will, so she will take some convincing." Before Jace could answer the judge was back, I gave him a quick kiss and made it back to my seat.

Court ended around 5 and Izzy had to leave right away. She had a date with Simon tonight. I was waiting out in the lobby for Jace thinking about everything I heard today. I was in the middle of thinking when Jace came out.

"Hey. You ready?"

"Yea." We drove home in silence and I couldn't help but keep thinking about the DNA that was found in the room where James was murdered. There had to be a way to get a good enough theory to pitch to the jury that would automatically get Will's charges dropped. "Jace, I was wondering, would it be possible for me to look at the crime scene photos?"

"Uh, it's not very ethical. What are you looking for?"

"I was just going over everything I heard today. I can see where the prosecution is coming from. I can see how they are trying to spin the jealousy thing, but knowing what I know completely obliterates that theory, but there has to be another one that can clear Will. We know he didn't do it. But then someone is out there who did commit this crime. I know it's the polices job to investigate but something tells me that it was a crime of passion, just not in the way the prosecution is spinning it."

"So you think a woman did this?"

"I mean, it sounds crazy, but if I could look at the photos, I could get a better understanding." He looked at me with confusion. "Crime always interested me as a child. In my free time I took a couple classes that dealt with criminal justice. I was actually really good at it."

"Let me talk to Will and Alec, see what they think about your new theory and I'll let you know." I nodded my head and made my way into the kitchen to start dinner. About 10 minutes later Jace came in. "Alec thinks it's an interesting theory and if we can prove it was a woman, Will would definitely be cleared. I'll go get the photos. You sure you want to eat while you look at these?"

"I watched three people get murdered in front of me, and than forced to clean it up and bury their bodies, I think I can handle some pictures." He laughed, kissed me on the cheek and went to get the pictures. 15 minutes later dinner was done and we were sitting at the kitchen table, with dinner and crime scene photos spread all over the place. I was looking at the ones of James body and I noticed a 9mm sized hole. Normally if it was a fight between two men, a blunt object is normally the murder weapon. In this case, it's a gun, which proves someone showed up to kill. "Was there toxicology done for him?"

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

"Most women who kill use mainly two methods. Poison or guns. Most aren't strong enough to take out a man, especially one in Special Forces with their muscles. I think you should go back and talk to the investigators who were on his case. Ask them to run a toxicology report and run the DNA to see if you can test for pregnancy."

"Why?"

"Well, it wouldn't hurt. I mean if it comes back positive it's definitely a woman and if it isn't well, no harm no foul. And the toxicology can confirm if he was poisoned before he was murdered."

"How do you know all of this?" He looked at me with amazement.

"I have a really high IQ. Plus, I have a somewhat eidetic memory."

"Wow. No wonder the army scooped you up. You aren't a rare human."

"Yes, but until this trial is over, I'm all yours." He leaned over and kissed me. I smiled and went back to the photos. "Personally, I think if a man killed James, he would have beaten him to death. I don't think he would have used a gun."

"That's what I was thinking. And if Will was going to confront James, he wouldn't kill him, they might be rough with each other but they would never hurt each other. They loved each other too much. They remind me of Alec and I."

"How?"

"I never had any siblings, and I lost my parents when I was young. When the Lightwoods adopted me Alec was my first real friend, and he became my brother. Sure we fought, but it was never that serious. We'd yell, and maybe get one or two swings in, but at the end of the day he was my brother, my best friend. I'd never do anything to hurt me. That's how Will and James were. Will is so torn up over his death, I can see it in his eyes. There is no way he did this."

"And him being your cousin has nothing to do with it?"

"Not at all. I was shocked when we found out. I always assumed I didn't have any family. I mean, clearly after this is over we'll stay in touch but as far as me trying to get him off because he is my family, that isn't true. You know how I feel about people going to jail because they deserve too. If Will did this, I would want him to go to jail."

"I know, I was just curious. It caught me off guard when the prosecution called him Mr. Herondale." He smiled and let out a little laugh.

"I figured it did. I would have told you, but confidentiality. Now that Will allowed you in on the case, that doesn't really matter anymore."

"I appreciate him letting me be involved. It feels nice to be doing something again. I know the army means well with giving me all this time off, but sometimes I think I'm going crazy with nothing to do."

"I know, but it'll be over soon, and the army is going to want that big brain of yours back." I laughed and finished cleaning up dinner. It was about 10 o'clock before we made it upstairs. "Alright, we have another early day tomorrow. Thank you for doing this babe. It means a lot."

"He will be my family soon too, and it's my pleasure to help out." We got into bed and I had no idea how tired I was until my head hit the pillow and not 5 minutes later I was drifting off to sleep thinking about how I could truly help Will, and in a way work with Jace and it was something that brought a smile to my face before everything went black.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

 **Clary POV:**

Jace did add me to the witness list and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I mean, I saw what being questioned looked like but I didn't know exactly how it was going to feel. I was sitting in the courtroom in my uniform just waiting to be called up for questioning. It was about 4 hours after court started and I thought I was never going to get called. Until I heard Alec call my name. I got up and made my way to the stand, I was sworn in and took my seat before Alec started.

"Clarissa, could you please tell me how you knew James Carstairs."

"I met him in Iraq. His Special Forces team was the team that rescued me."

"And what did they rescue you from?" Alec and Jace both warned me that this was going to be brought up, and they wanted me to be as comfortable as possible.

"I was deployed in Iraq when me along with two other intelligence analysts and a sergeant were kidnapped and held for months by a extremists group." There were gasps from around the room, I looked at the jury and immediately saw a bunch of their demeanors change.

"And, how would you describe James Carstairs?"

"Well, we talked briefly but he seemed like a very good man."

"What did you two talk about?"

"I thanked him for rescuing me. I told him that I was scared that I'd never see my family or my boyfriend again. He told me that he completely understands and that he had to leave his girlfriend at a moments notice all the time."

"And did he seem upset while you two were talking?"

"He did, but he also didn't. He knew the minute that he was called for that mission that his relationship was over. He told me that, but he also told me that all he wanted was for Tessa to be happy. He was tired of her sacrificing her happiness for him." I looked at Will and smiled. "James knew about Will and Tessa. He knew that Will was in love with her while they were still together. All James wanted was Tessa to finally be happy, and he said that if Will made Tessa happy, he wasn't going to get in the way of that."

"Thank you Clarissa." Alec sat down and the prosecution stood up to begin the cross-examination.

"Clarissa, don't you think that's a little odd? James just giving Tessa away to Will?"

"At first I was confused, but after he explained it, I understood. Her happiness meant everything to him, and at some point he realized that he wasn't giving that to her anymore, and to him if he wasn't the source of her happiness anymore, he was going to make sure she got it somewhere else. No matter what that meant for them."

"But Tessa knew exactly what she was getting herself into when he decided to date James. And Will knew what his job entailed. Is it possible that Will got mad and lashed out at James for causing Tessa so much sadness?"

"Have you ever dated someone in the military Mr. Johnson?"

"Miss. Morgenstern this is your…." He began but I cut him off.

"It's extremely hard to be involved with someone who is in the military. I was an army brat, I watched my mother go through it my whole entire life. Watching the person you love risk their life can tear a person apart." I looked at Jace and he smiled at me. "James in particular had a very dangerous job. He was constantly on covert missions, and he had to up and leave his life instantly without any warning. But that's what he chose to do to protect this country. Tessa and James tried to make it work, and in the long run, it didn't work out. Not everyone is cut out for military life. Marrying into a world that is drastically different that what you're used to it hard to adjust too. Tessa couldn't do it, and she found comfort in Will. Them falling love wasn't a betrayal to James, it just happened. Will never meant to 'take' Tessa, as you would say, they found comfort in each other when her boyfriend and his best friend was gone."

"Miss. Morgenstern, are you off your soap box yet?" He was very rude but I just nodded so he would continue, I saw out of the corner of my eye Jace getting angry at this man, and I couldn't blame him. "Now, as I was saying before you interrupted me, Will had been in love with Tessa from the start, but James had her first, if you were in his situation don't you think you'd be a little mad at James?"

"You've never been in love have you?" I said and the room filled with a low laugh. "Being in love isn't about yourself, it's about the other person. Will saw how James felt about Tessa, and he saw how Tessa felt about James. James had known Tessa longer, and he wanted to see his friend, his best friend happy. So Will didn't act on his feelings for Tessa so James could be happy. Does that sound like a man that would show up to confront his best friend and shoot him?"

"You sound very passionate about Will, what is your relationship with him?"

"I just met him, we don't have a relationship."

"But soon that won't be the case will it? Soon you'll be related? You are in fact Jace Herondale's fiancé correct?"

"I don't see how that has anything to do with this case."

"It has everything to do with the case. Ever hear of a conflict of interest Miss. Morgenstern?" Alright, if this guys wants to be a dick, I'll be a dick back.

"Mr. Johnson, I am no idiot."

"I never implied you were Miss. Morgenstern."

"Maybe not with your words but with your tone." I smiled at him innocently. "I am an intelligence analyst for the United States Army, I have an IQ of 180, and I have a eidetic memory, I know more than you do, so please stop trying to talk down to me as if I am a child being punished." He was stunned, but I wasn't done there. "William Herondale and James Carstairs were best friend, they loved each other. You don't just kill the people that you love because of some woman, and I'm not trying to diminish Tessa in any way, but these two have no violent past, they have never had a falling out with each other, and they've never once put a girl above each other. So why would this time be different?"

"Nobody likes a smartass Miss. Morgenstern." My jaw dropped; can he even say this in court? I looked at the judge who looked rather amused at the whole situation and if he wasn't saying anything, I could certainly continue.

"And nobody likes a man who is so insecure in his job that he has to go and try to discredit a witness based on their relationship to the lawyer of the defendant. I agreed to testify on William's behalf because I have an outsider's perspective of the man whose life was lost. The fact that you are trying, and failing I might add, to accuse William Herondale of murder by throwing out ridiculous theories and trying to put any sort of reasonable doubt into the jurors minds is actually quite disturbing. No wonder it took you three times to pass the bar exam." I got up and stepped down from the stand where Mr. Johnson was stuck in place, I walked beside him and stopped. "Good luck Nick." I whispered in his ear before taking my seat.

After another hour court was over and I was standing in the lobby when Nick approached me.

"What do I owe the pleasure Mr. Johnson?" I said in a fake happy voice.

"You made me look like an idiot in there." He stepped closer and grabbed my wrist. "I don't appreciate you talking about my personal business." His grip tightened on my wrist.

"Just like you decided to bring my relationship status into the argument or how you tried to make me seem like an idiot so you could try and get my testimony thrown out?" I spit back and he pressed me up against a wall and tightened his grip.

"You'll pay for this Clarissa." I was about to speak when I heard a voice.

"Get your hands off of her Nick." I looked to my right and saw Jace and Alec standing there. Nick let go of my wrist and slowly backed up.

"We were just having a lovely chat, weren't we Clarissa?"

"You consider that lovely?" I rubbed my wrist. "No wonder you're a lonely bastard." His eyes shifted back to me before he walked away. "God I hate that guy."

"Are you alright babe?"

"Yea, I'm good he's just mad that I said all of that today."

"I thought you were absolutely amazing in there." Jace smirked and kissed my forehead.

"I'm surprised the judge didn't stop you." Alec chimed in.

"After he called me a smartass I looked at the judge and he looked amused, so I just went for it. I figured he wasn't stopping Nick so why would he stop me."

"I was about 2 minutes away from punching him if he continued to talk to you like that." He looked at his watch. "Come on, lets' go home. I'm exhausted." Jace said and I grabbed his hand and we made our way to our car. Neither of us felt like cooking so we got a pizza on the way home. Once we got home I immediately changed out of my uniform and into sweats and a hoodie and joined Jace on the couch. We stayed like that for the rest of night, perfectly content in each others presence. I was not looking forward to going back to court knowing that I could pulled up for questioning again, and I certainly didn't want Nick to try and dig up dirt on me. I knew he was going to try to get anything he could to discredit me, but I guess I'd just have to wait and see what he does, but right now I was just going to enjoy this moment.

 **So clearly the way the questioning went in this chapter isn't at all how questioning would go in a real trial, but it's fiction, and I thought it was a great chain of events! Hope you enjoyed it!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

 **Clary POV:**

I sat in that courtroom for three more days before I was called up for more questioning by the prosecution. I stood up and made my way to the stand again. I quickly looked back at Jace and Alec who looked nervous for me. I sat down and waited for Nick to start the questioning.

"Miss. Morgenstern, I've had the opportunity to meet someone from your past." I could feel all the color leave my face and I knew he noticed it as well. "Does that make you nervous?" He had an evil smirk spread across his face. "He was kind enough to send me a letter about you. I would like to log this letter into evidence for Miss. Morgenstern as a witness your honor."

"I'll allow it on the grounds for verification of the witness." Nick took out the note and I instantly tensed. I knew he could only be talking about Mark. I looked over at Jace who looked just as worried as I was. Alec and Will looked confused but they would soon know everything.

 _Dear Mr. Johnson,_

 _I was shocked when you contacted me for information on Clarissa Morgenstern. I haven't heard her name in almost 10 years but the impact she had on my life was everlasting. We were both 15, and we met at a school function. My high school and her high school were playing a football game, it was our biggest game of the year, we were rivals. I saw a beautiful girl, with the most vibrant red hair and mesmerizing green eyes talking amongst friends and just had to introduce myself. We talked for a couple weeks before I got the courage to ask her out. After a couple months I noticed her become withdrawn, I was curious one day and I followed her, she was having secret meetings with other guys behind my back. I confronted her about it, and she lied to me. I let it slide hoping it would be a one-time thing. Her behavior never changed though, she kept lying and one day her father was reassigned to another base. She never told me she was leaving. One day she was just gone and I never heard from her again. Our relationship was doomed from the moment Clary decided to lie and deceive me. I hope this give you some insight into who Clarissa Morgenstern really is, and not who she appears to be._

 _Good luck,_

 _Mark B._

By the end of the letter I was fuming, and so was Jace. Alec just looked confused and I just couldn't believe that Nick would stoop so low and find Mark to try and discredit me like that.

"Now, as you can see Miss. Morgenstern has a history of lying and being deceitful, there is no way we can believe anything this woman says to be the truth. For all we know her whole story could be made up."

"Objection!" Jace yelled and slammed his hand on the table.

"Seems like I've hit a nerve." Nick laughed. Alec grabbed Jace by the shoulder and made him sit back down.

"Mr. Johnson," I started. "First of all I would like to say that if you have a problem with my story about how I knew James Carstairs, you can look it up in the report back on Fort Hamilton, and you can personally call my father, General Morgenstern to get a better story, as for that letter, you have no idea what you're talking about."

"It's all here in the letter Mark so gratefully handed over to us."

"You must be more desperate than I thought if you believe Mark's story."

"You're saying he is lying about everything?"

"Yes."

"So what is your side Miss. Morgenstern?"

"We did meet at a football game, and he was very nice to me. We got along, and after a couple weeks we started dating. Everything was going great, I was happy and it was the first time I had made a friendship outside the base. One day after school I was talking to a boy that was my partner for an English assignment and Mark was pissed, he thought I was cheating on him. That was the first time he hit me." There were gasps and I saw Nick's face instantly drop. "He became controlling after that. He hated that I lived on a military base, he said it was harder to keep an eye on me. I thought it was only going to be a one time thing, but after that it just got worse. He was constantly telling me how fat I was and that he didn't want to be seen with a fat girlfriend. I started binging and purging after that. He wanted me to be thin, and I wanted to make him happy." I looked over at Jace and Alec and I could see the sadness in both of their eyes. "One day I was at his house after school and he was pissed at me, I don't remember why but he grabbed me by the throat and pinned me up against the wall." I stopped to catch my breath, there was one thing that I never told Jace about, one thing that I didn't want to remember, but I wasn't about to lie on the stand. "I tried to get him to let me go but he just kept tightening his grip, I was suffocating, and than I passed out. I woke up on the ground, and he was kicking me. I had some bruised ribs, and my neck was purple from his hand. Once I woke up he stopped. He kicked me out of his house, and I couldn't go home. I knew my brothers and my dad would go crazy, so I told my parents I was spending the night at a friends house, but I slept in a park that night. The next morning I noticed that there was a blood stain on my shirt." I locked eyes with Jace and his eyes were wide. "When I looked there was a cut from my lower hip up to the middle of my side. He cut me while I was unconscious after he beat me. Would you have stayed with a guy like that? I have severe anxiety attacks, it took me years to get my confidence back, I never made a single friend, and I never dated after that. He scarred me, and he broke me, and he abused me." I looked at Jace, and than back at Nick. "So no Mr. Johnson, I wouldn't believe a damn thing that letter says." He just nodded and I was allowed to get off the stand. The courtroom was quiet and I could feel all eyes on me. I sat back down next to Izzy, she grabbed my hand and I finally let some tears out of my eyes. By the time court was over I ran out of that room. I was waiting in the lobby when none other than Nick approached me.

"What could you possibly want now Nick?"

"Clarissa…" He started but was cut off by Jace.

"I suggest you leave Nick. You've already done enough to her." Jace was in front of me, and Alec and Izzy were both by his side.

"I'm sorry Clarissa, I had no idea." He said and I saw the sincerity in his eyes.

"Please, just leave me alone Nick." He left and Jace's arms were immediately around me.

"Why did you leave that detail out when you told me the story?"

"I haven't been able to think about it let alone talk about it, but it was important for him to know, so incase he wanted to proof I could show him. I'm sorry Jace, but I wanted to tell you I just couldn't physically say the words."

"I understand babe, and I'm so sorry he dragged you through that."

"It's okay, it sucked but I think I'm alright." He pulled me into a hug and kissed me forehead. "Can we go home?" He nodded and grabbed my hand and we made our way home.

When we were in bed I cuddled up into his side and listened to his heartbeat. Eventually the rhythmic sound lulled me to sleep where I couldn't keep the nightmares of what Mark did to me away.

 **Jace POV:**

I woke up at 4 o'clock in the morning to a scream. I looked over and Clary was thrashing around on the bed.

"Clary, babe, wake up."

"Stop it. Stop hurting me." She screamed and I grabbed her shoulders to pin her to the bed and stop the thrashing.

"Clary, you're safe. Wake up, it's me Jace." Her thrashing started to calm down and she started to cry. "Come on babe, wake up." She started to stir and than her eyes began to flutter open.

"Jace?"

"Yea, it's me babe. What's going on?"

"All of that stuff in court today, I couldn't keep the nightmares away." She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "He's still haunting me Jace. And I can't escape him. No matter how hard I try."

"Hey, he can't hurt you anymore. He can't control your life anymore. I'm right here, and I will protect you from him." She curled up into my side and I pulled her close.

"It was so bad Jace."

"I know it was, and Nick had no right to remind you of all of that, but I promise you will always me safe as long as you're with me."

"He ruined my teenage years. I was so scared to date after him. I thought every guy was going to be like that. I looked at men like they were all going to hit me, or chock me or cut me. I was so scared for so long." I could feel her sobbing into my chest.

"I will never do any of those things to you Clarissa. I will love you, and protect you, and cherish you every single day for the rest of our lives. I promise I will never become what Mark was." She propped herself up on her elbows and looked into my eyes. I cupped her face and kissed her. "I love you Clary, and I will love you forever."

"I love you too Jace, I know you aren't anything like Mark. I know you'd never do anything like that to me. You're the first man I've ever felt comfortable around since I was 15. You've saved me in a lot of ways Jace." I kissed her again and she cuddled up against me. Soon I could feel her breathing even out and I knew that she was asleep. I followed soon after but woke up almost every hour to make sure Clary was alright. By the time 8 am rolled around I woke up and Clary wasn't in bed anymore. I heard the shower running and walked into the bathroom to see Clary in there, I looked closely and I could see the scar that Mark had left her with that night and my fists balled up.

"Jace?"

"Yea babe." I calmed myself down so she couldn't hear the anger in my voice.

"What's up?"

"Would you like anything for breakfast?"

"Maybe some coffee and a piece of fruit. I'm not very hungry."

"Alright, I'll be in the kitchen." I left the bathroom and made my way to the kitchen to make her some coffee. 10 minutes later Clary walked into the kitchen and sat down on the bar stool and began to drink her coffee. We sat in silence for a couple minutes before she spoke.

"You saw it didn't you?" I nodded. "It's a daily reminder of him. I hate it."

"It's a reminder of how strong you are, and how much you have overcome." I grabbed her hands and kissed them. "You don't have to come to court today. It's just the verdict."

"I want to be there. I want to see what happens to Will." I nodded. "Hey, what ever happened with the DNA?"

"I'll tell you after the case, I still cant break confidentiality." I kissed her cheek. "Are you going to come to the courthouse with Izzy?"

"Yea. She should be here in 15 minutes."

"Alright, I'll see you there. I love you."

"I love you too."

Two hours later Alec, Will and I were sitting in the courtroom waiting for the judge to come in and ask the jury for the verdict. I was nervous, because I knew Will was innocent and I wanted James to get the justice he deserved but I wanted the right person to go away for his murder, and I knew Will was innocent. The judge walked in and we all stood up, and than we sat down. It was all up to what the jurors believed. They held Will's future in their hands. Alec and I did everything we possibly could for him.

"Have you reached a verdict?"

"We have your honor." There was a pause, I took a deep breath. "We find the defendant William Herondale…..Not guilty in the murder of James Carstairs."

There was a huge breath let out as Alec and I stood up and hugged. I turned to Will and hugged him as well.

"Thank you so much man. I don't know how to thank you."

"It was my pleasure to help you out Will, and don't be a stranger."

"Oh, I won't be. Now that I know we live in the same city, you can expect to see Tessa and I around a lot more."

"Good, now if you'll excuse me I want to go give my fiancé a hug for everything she did for me." They both nodded at me and I made my way through the courtroom back to where Clary and Izzy were standing. I made my way to them and before Clary could say anything I pulled her into me and kissed her.

"Congratulations babe. I knew you could do it."

"I couldn't have done it without you. You helped our case so much and I know Will appreciates everything you did for him."

"I will do anything for family."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

 **Time Jump-Six Months**

 **Clary POV:**

About a week ago I had a meeting with my commander to determine if I was ready to get back to work. I was cleared and ready to get back to work. As much as I loved helping with Jace's case and hanging out with Izzy and Tessa, I felt like I needed to get back to work, it's where I belonged. Today was a long weekend and my parents were coming down. Jace had invited Alec, and his new boyfriend, along with Tessa and Will, and I invited Izzy and Simon over. It was going to be nice to have everyone together, especially before the wedding. Something lowkey, and not outlandish that we could all enjoy, not saying that we won't enjoy the wedding, but this was far less formal and I couldn't wait to just chill with them and enjoy the day. It was about noon when my parents got to our house and I was so thrilled to see them.

"Ciao Jace e Clary. In che modo voi ragazzi?" My dad asks as he pulls me into a hug and shakes Jace's hand.

"Molto bene. La ringrazio." Jace answers and I giggle as I lean into his side. It made me really happy how fast Jace was able to pick up the Italian language. "Come stai?"

"Eccezionale." He puts his arm around my mom and she smiles up at him, I can only hope that one day Jace and I have a marriage that mimics theirs. The doorbell rings and I go and answer it to find Izzy, Simon, Tessa and Will all standing at the door.

"Benvenuti!" I say and they all look at me with confused looks, and I feel hands circle around my waist.

"Cosa vi ho detto circa il babe italiana?" I hear Jace whisper in my ear and I just laugh. Since Jace picked up the language we speak it around the house all the time, and being with my parents sometimes I forget that not everyone understand the language.

"Sorry guys, I've been speaking in Italian since yesterday and I forgot to turn it off."

"It's okay, but it's disgustingly cute that you two know have your own language."

"We do share it with an entire country Iz."

"Yea, but since we are not in Italy, it's like your own language and it's disgustingly cute. I wish Simon could speak a sexy language, but unfortunately for me, he doesn't." She looked at Simon and he just smiled and shook his head.

"Well, come on in. Everyone is almost here, we're just waiting for Alec and his mystery man." They all usher into our house but Izzy stays behind and she looks kind of nervous. "What's wrong Iz? You look scared."

"I'm just nervous to meet Alec's boyfriend. This is a huge step for him. He didn't even tell us he was gay until Jace told him. I know this is hard for him, but I'm proud of him and I just want everything to go smoothly for him."

"Don't worry Iz, nobody here is going to judge Alec or his boyfriend. Come on, Alec should be here soon enough, just take your mind off of it." She smiled at me and nodded. We made our way into the kitchen to mingle with everyone else. About 15 minutes later the doorbell rang and I looked at Jace and nodded towards the door. He left the kitchen and answered the door, I heard soft conversation until they made it to the kitchen.

"Everyone, this is Magnus, Alec's boyfriend." Alec looked worried, but I was glad he finally wanted us to meet his boyfriend. "And Alec, this is Valentine and Jocelyn, Clary's parents."

"Nice to meet you both. Welcome to the party." My dad said with a smile and at that moment I saw Alec relax. Meeting the General of the Army was intimidating enough but introducing his boyfriend to him might be enough for someone shit his pants.

By the time dinner was over everyone was pretty much drunk, except Simon and Alec, who were both the DD's for their parties. My father was always known to go past his limit every now and than but it was always in good fun. Tonight he was in rare form and wouldn't stop telling us stories about my childhood.

"One time, Clary was about 6 and we were in Italy and Clary swore she could keep up with Sebastian and Jonathan when it came to racing. And Jonathan and Sebastian always allowed her to join in on their fun, they never left her out. They were racing their bikes down the street and her tire popped and her chain broke and she couldn't stop the bike." He paused because he was laughing so hard, and I was shaking my head in embarrassment and my mother was crying from how hard she was laughing. "She was going so fast and her bike flew off the "cliff", but luckily for her, as she told us, there was a tree to her right and she grabbed that tree for dear life and she wouldn't let go. Jonathan and Sebastian were freaking out cause she wouldn't get out of the tree. They came to tell us and we rushed to where she was and this little girl was chanting 'Non voglio morire' which means 'I don't want to die' over and over again, I had to convince her that she wasn't going to die and if she just let go of the tree her feet would be on the ground. It took us 25 minutes to get her out of that tree and to this day she hasn't ridden a bike." Everyone was howling with laughter at this point and I just put my head on the table trying to hide my embarrassment. "In all reality her bike hit a rock and she thought she was dying."

"That wasn't funny dad! I was 6 and that could have been a cliff for all I knew!" He just continued to laugh along with everyone else.

"Come on babe, that's hilarious." Jace said as he put his hand over my shoulders. "It's only one embarrassing story."

"Oh trust me, I have loads more where that came from." My dad said and I couldn't help but glare at him. "But you'll have a lifetime to hear them all. Multiple times. And trust me baby, if Jonathan and Sebastian were here, they would have had a lot more fun at your expense."

"I know, they always did like to torture me with whatever they could think of." I laughed at the memory of my two brothers.

"Remember Texas? God, we could have gotten worst parents of the year award for that, and they made fun of us all for years." He laughed and my jaw dropped. I couldn't believe he said that out loud, but soon I was laughing with him because it was the funniest yet worst experience ever.

"What happened in Texas?" Izzy asks and I just prayed that he wouldn't tell them, but I knew it would get out eventually.

"Do you mind if I tell them?" My dad asks and I look around the room and see all their eager faces and I just couldn't say no.

"Why not, I'm getting more wine. Anyone else want something?" I got their drink orders and I made my way back to the living room. I sat down and cuddled into Jace's side waiting for my father to tell the story. He looked at me and I nodded.

"So we were in Texas, packing up to move to Fort Knox in Kentucky." I could feel Jace stiffen at the mention of that place, I put my hand on his knee and he relaxed. I looked up at him and smiled and kissed my cheek. "Clary had been sick for about a week, the flu, and it was nasty so she was sleeping while we loaded the car and everything. She was so bundled in her comforter that the movers just thought there were an excessive amount of blankets so they didn't think anything of it. Jocelyn and I were going mad trying to control the boys and getting everything ready that we didn't even notice she wasn't in the car when we left. It took us 3 hours to realize that our daughter wasn't in the car with us. We freaked. Called the base, asked them to search our house, but there was no trace of her. We pulled into a truck stop and started to make a game plan, when we heard banging coming from the trailer. When we opened it up, Clary was standing there, dripping sweat and angry. She yelled at us for a good 15 minutes." He laughed and I could feel Jace laughing as well. "God, I felt like such a failure that day. Jocelyn cried the rest of the way to Kentucky and Jonathan and Sebastian were doing anything Clary asked them to do."

"Come on dad, you weren't a failure, you just forgot. You had a lot on your mind."

"Clary, we literally forgot you, and left."

"But I was there, I may have been in the back of a trailer but I was there, and I was mad but I got over it rather quickly. I mean, I was more upset about being sick that being loaded into a trailer." He stood up and kissed my forehead and reached his hand out and my mom took it.

"Alright kids, we're going to head to bed. It was great seeing everybody and meeting new faces." He looked at me. "Ti amo bambina"

"Buonanotte papà. Ti amo."

"I think we're going to get going as well." Alec said as him and Magnus got up. "Thank for having us over guys. It was fun."

"Thank you for coming, and introducing us to Magnus. It's about time." I laughed and hugged both of them. "You guys are welcome here anytime."

"Thank you. See you on Monday Jace, big case, prepare for another long day."

"I'll be there bright and early man." We turned around to Izzy, Simon, Tessa and Will. "Thank you guys for coming."

"Thank you for the invite. We had fun." They left and Izzy and Simon soon followed. Jace and I made our way upstairs and got ready for bed. We laid down in bed and I cuddled up into his chest. I couldn't get over how much my life had changed in the past year and a half. I was more in love with Jace than I thought was even possible, I was bouncing back from the kidnapping and the trial, and I was getting married in a couple months. Everything in my life was perfect, and I couldn't be happier to know that I was going to start a whole new life with Jace as my husband. I looked up and she smiled down at me.

"I love you Jace Herondale."

"I love you too Clary Morgenstern." He kissed me and I kissed him back. I snuggled into his chest again and finally allowed sleep to overcome my body.

 _Translation:_

 _Ciao Jace e Clary. In che modo voi ragazzi?- Hello Jace and Clary. How are you?_

 _Molto bene. La ringrazio. Come stai?- Very well. How are you?_

 _Eccezionale.- Exceptional_

 _Benvenuti!- Welcome_

 _Cosa vi ho detto circa il babe italiana?- What did I tell you about the Italian babe?_


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

 **Time Jump- Wedding Time**

 **Clary POV:**

Tomorrow was the day of Jace and I's wedding and I was supper excited. It wasn't going to be big, just the people that mean something to us. I never wanted something huge and neither did Jace, it took some convincing but soon Izzy was on board and once she accepted it her and I were in full wedding mode. My parents had an amazing backyard with a gazebo and we decided that's where the ceremony was going to be held. Jace and I got here yesterday and everyone else was meeting us here today. I wanted some time to get everything ready for them so my parents didn't have to worry about getting the house together. It was really hard for me to be here without Jonathan and Sebastian, especially getting their rooms ready for others to sleep in. Although we never lived here with my parents, we each still had our own bedrooms that were completely us so that when we stayed it felt like home. I was standing in front of Jonathan's room just staring at the door with new bed sheets in my hands. I couldn't find the courage to open the door knowing that he was no longer here with me. I don't know how long I stood there, just staring when I felt hands rest on my hips. I didn't even need to look behind me to know it was Jace.

"Che cosa è errato babe?" He whispered in my ear sending a shiver down my spine.

"Non sono stato nella sua stanza in quanto egli è morto." I sighed and I felt him grip my hips tighter before he turned me around to face him.

"Vuoi che io faccia per te?" He lifted my chin up with his fingers so that we were looking into each others eyes. It made me smile to know that he would do anything for me.

"No, ho bisogno di fare io, ma ho solo bisogno di trovare la forza per aprire la porta." I smiled and placed my hand on his cheek. "Penso di essere in grado di farlo ora."

"Sei sicuro?"

"Sì, tutta la forza di cui ho bisogno è da voi." I leaned up and placed a sweet kiss on his lips before I turned back to the door, and took a deep breath. "I can do this." I whispered to myself and I could hear Jace chuckle to himself behind me.

"Let me know if you need anything." He kissed my temple. "Love you."

"Love you too." I said as he walked back downstairs. I put my hand on the doorknob and twisted it and pushed the door opened. I took another deep breath before entering his room. I could feel the wave of anxiety in my chest, and before I could do anything about it everything went dark.

 **Jace POV:**

When I got downstairs, I went into the backyard to help Valentine set up the ceremony space for tomorrow. It was just going to be family, and friends so there wasn't much to do except set up a few chairs. Once Izzy arrived she was going to be decorating the gazebo so I was just in charge of chairs.

"You nervous?" I heard Valentine ask form across the yard.

"Not nervous, just really excited to start building a life and a family with Clary." I looked at Valentine and laughed. "Okay, I'm a little nervous."

"Don't worry son, I've never seen her so happy, she's crazy about you. There is nothing to worry about."

"I know, but I never actually thought of myself as the type of person who would ever get married."

"Why not?"

"I was a complete asshole in high school, didn't care about anything let alone girls feelings. I was a grade A player, but once I graduated I hit the books really hard to make a career for myself. It had been years since I even had any type of physical contact with a woman until I officially asked Clary out. She made me so nervous, but ever since our first date I can't imagine my life without her."

"I understand. Wedding's make everyone nervous. Just take a couple deep breathes before I walk her down the aisle and you'll get through it." Valentine and I had finished setting up the 14 chairs that we would need. I had a little surprise for Clary, Next to where Jocelyn and Valentine were sitting would be two empty chairs, both having a single rose placed on it with a J and a S on there signifying Jonathan and Sebastian. Even though they couldn't physically be here, there were here spiritually and I knew it was something that meant a lot to Clary.

Valentine and I had made our way back inside where we were greeted with an unimaginable sight. Jocelyn was crouched over Clary's body and crying. Clary looked like she was dead but I could see the slight rise and fall of her chest. I immediately went over to her side.

"Jocelyn, what happened?" Valentine asked.

"I went upstairs after I heard a huge crash. I found Clary in Jonathan's room, and she was destroying it, and crying her eyes out. I tried to talk to her but when she looked at me I could see that she wasn't here. So I tried to get her to come downstairs with me and she tripped down the stairs, she hit the floor and looked at me before she just went to sleep. I've never seen her like that before, and it scared me."

"She'll be okay Jocelyn, maybe this was the way of her subconscious breaking her out of the attack." I said. I knew that since being in therapy after the kidnapping was helping with her anxiety, she only had an attack when things were too much for her to handle.

"I hope so, I feel so helpless when she's having one." I place my hand on Jocelyn's back as she leans into Valentines side. A few minutes go by when finally Clary starts to stir. She opens her eyes slowly and she looks absolutely confused.

"What happened?"

"You had an anxiety attack. Your mom found you destroying Jonathan's room and crying, when she tried to bring you downstairs, you fell and than decided to go to sleep." She grabbed my hand and helped her sit up as she leaned into my chest.

"I'm really sorry. I thought I could handle it."

"I know sweetheart, don't worry about it. We'll clean up his room and get it ready." Jocelyn said but I could hear the reservation in her voice, clearly none of them had had the strength to go into either of their rooms since their deaths.

"You know what, I'll do it." I say and all three of them look at me. "I really didn't know them all that well, and it'll be easier for me to do it than for you guys to have to drag yourself through all of that. Especially so close to the wedding."

"Thank you so much Jace." Valentine says. "It's just hard to know they aren't around anymore."

"I understand. Everyone should be here in about an hour or so, so I'll get going on the rooms and I'll be back down soon." I kiss Clary on the cheek and help her stand up.

"Sounds good, Clary would you like to help me with dinner?"

"Sure mom." Jocelyn nods and heads to the kitchen followed by Valentine. Clary turns and faces me. "Thank you so much for doing this. I only volunteered because I knew my parents didn't want to do it. I thought I was ready to handle it, I guess I was wrong."

"Don't worry about it babe. Anything to help." I kissed her cheek and she smiled.

"I love you."

"I love you too." I kissed her one more time before heading upstairs to finish getting the rooms ready. I walked into Jonathan's and saw the damage that Clary had made and laughed and took a deep breath before I started cleaning, making a mental note never to get her angry.

 **Clary POV:**

After Jace went upstairs I made my way into the kitchen to help my mom with dinner. I can't believe that that happened, but I am so thankful for Jace taking on that job. It definitely helps all of us have some peace of mind knowing we don't have to open that can of worms just yet. I walked over and got out a cutting bored and started chopping up some onions.

"You lucked out on that one sweetie." My mom said referring to Jace.

"I know, I don't know what I'd do without him. He knows exactly what to do with calm me down and break me out of my attacks."

"Do you have them often?"

"After I came home from Iraq, I got them a lot. He would wake up and find me in the bathtub, or in the kitchen cooking, sometimes I would wonder outside and start to garden. It got better after I started seeing a therapist, so they aren't as often, but he's still super supportive and patient when they do happen."

"He is certainly an angel."

"I know, I don't know if anyone else would be able to deal with me the way he has too, but he does it, and I appreciate it more than I tell him."

"He's a good man, and I can't wait until he becomes my son tomorrow." I smile at my mom and agree. We finish prepping dinner when the doorbell rings. I go to open it and see Jace's family standing there.

"Welcome. I'm so glad you guys are here." I hug Izzy, Alec, Simon and Magnus. His adoptive parents follow in with Max tucked tight to their sides. My parents come out and I finally get to introduce them "Mom, dad, this is Maryse and Robert Lightwood, Jace's adoptive parents. And this one is Max, the youngest Lightwood."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Valentine and this is my wife Jocelyn. Glad we had the opportunity to meet before the wedding." My father says and we all laugh.

"We're pleased as well." Robert says as they shake hands. 20 minutes later the doorbell rings again and I go to open it to see Will and Tessa standing there. I hug them both and lead them into the kitchen. Dinner will be ready in about 15 minutes. We're all enjoying some small talk before I hear Jace coming down the stairs.

"Hai fatto davvero un numero su quella stanza babe." Jace says as he enters the kitchen met with shocked faces from his parents.

"Mi dispiace davvero." I replied as I made my way over to him and placed a sweet kiss on his cheek. "Well, why don't we all make our way into the dinning room, dinner should be ready soon." We all made our way and took our seats.

"Jace, I didn't know you spoke, what is that, Italian?" Robert says and Jace nods.

"It's kind of a requirement if you want to be able to understand anything in the Morgenstern family." I laughed and everyone else did too.

"Really?" Maryse asked.

"Yea, I was born in Italy." I started. "It was my first language, and when I was 8 we were stationed back in the states, but we took the Italian language with us. It was special, something my brothers and parents had that nobody else we knew had. When Jace and I first met I promised him I'd teach him out to speak it, and he picked up on it rather quickly. I was impressed."

"How come your brothers aren't here tonight?" I felt Jace stiffen next to me, but I also knew that he didn't talk to them all that often, I mean, I had only met them a handful of times, and it never really came up in a conversation.

"They were both killed in action."

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"It's okay, really. I've come to terms with it awhile ago." I felt Jace tracing circles on my back with his finger. My parents came out with dinner a couple minutes after and everything went really well. Everyone seemed to get along really well which made me extremely happy. By the end of the night I had to say goodbye to Jace. I walked him to the door and we both stopped.

"I hate that you're leaving." I said as I looked up at Jace.

"I know, but it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding." He smirked and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I know, I'm just going to hate sleeping alone."

"I know, so will I but after tomorrow we won't ever have to sleep alone again." I couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"I'll see you tomorrow Jace." I kissed him and he kissed me back.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He gave me one last kiss before he went and joined Alec in the car. I watch them drive away and I slowly closed the door and leaned on it. Tomorrow I would be Mrs. Herondale, and there wasn't anything I wanted more in the world than to make that gorgeous, arrogant, and truly amazing man my husband.

 _Translation:_

 _Che cosa è errato babe?-What's wrong babe?_

 _Non sono stato nella sua stanza in quanto egli è morto-I haven't been in his room since he died._

 _Vuoi che io faccia per te-Do you want me to do it for you?_

 _No, ho bisogno di fare io, ma ho solo bisogno di trovare la forza per aprire la porta. Penso di essere in grado di farlo ora.-No, I need to do it myself, I just needed to find the strength to do it myself. I think I can do it now._

 _Sei sicuro?-Are you sure?_

 _Sì, tutta la forza di cui ho bisogno è da voi- Yes, all the strength I need is from you._

 _Hai fatto davvero un numero su quella stanza babe- You really did a number on that room babe._

 _Mi dispiace davvero- I'm so sorry._


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

 **Jace POV:**

Today was the day of the wedding and I was freaking out. Marrying Clary is definitely going to be the best decision I've ever made, but there was still this part of me that was scared. I knew I loved her, and I knew she loved me but I couldn't help but be nervous. Sleeping alone last night was definitely different. I've grown accustomed to curling up behind Clary in the middle of the night and rolling over and not having her there was weird. The ceremony wasn't until two so the guys and I were going to go out to lunch, since I didn't want a bachelor party, lunch was closest thing to it that we were going to have. I was alone in my room when I heard a knock. I got up and opened the door to see Alec, Simon, Will, Robert, and Max.

"You ready?" Alec asked.

"Yea, let's go." I closed the door behind me and looked around. "Where is Magnus?"

"He called me this morning, and wanted to stay behind and help Izzy get Clary ready."

"Sounds good. Where are we going?"

"Well, since you didn't want to have a bachelor party we decided on a place that was almost as good as one." Alec smiled at me and laughed. "Hooters."

"Come on Alec, Max is with us." I said hoping to get out of it.

"It's just a restaurant Jace, and I already asked dad, he said it was cool." Robert clapped me on the shoulder and nodded. I gave in and we made our way to Hooters. When we got there we were seated immediately.

"Hey guys, my name is Aline and I'll be your waitress today. What can I start you guys off with?" He looked around the table but eventually her eyes lingered on me. I knew this was going to happen, which is kind of why I didn't want to come, but I guess this is what I get for denying Alec the right of giving me one.

"We don't have that much time so could we just get some buffalo wings and beers for us, and a coke for the little guy."

"Sure thing. I'll be back with your drinks soon." She smiled at me and winked before walking away. I shook my head when her back is turned.

"I forgot how well you attract the female population." Robert said and I just looked at him.

"Well, I don't ask for it. Sometimes I wish they would just stop. Maybe once I have a ring on they'll stop."

"Highly doubt that. Women have never been able to keep their eyes off you." Alec said and I just sighed. Before I could say anything else Aline was back with our drinks.

"Are you fellas celebrating anything special today?" She asked and eyed me up and I took the opportunity to make it known that she will never have a chance with me.

"Actually yes." I said. "In about 3 hours, I'll be getting married. And I didn't want a bachelor party so my brother so kindly brought me here as a last minute bachelor party." Her face fell a little bit before she caught herself and plastered a smile back on her face.

"Well, she's a lucky girl. Do you know where you're going on your honeymoon?"

"We haven't discussed a honeymoon yet. I'm in the middle of a huge case, and her job is kind of all over the place so we're gonna see what happens and take it from there."

"Well, I wish the two of you the best of luck. If you need anything else just let me know."

"Thank you." I replied and she turned around and walked away.

"Have you and Clary really not discussed a honeymoon?" Alec asked as we continued to eat.

"No. She got cleared so I have no idea if she'll be called for deployment, and we are in the middle of a huge case. So if after the case she is allowed to take a week off we'll go somewhere, but if she gets that call, she has to go."

"That must be really hard." Robert said.

"It's definitely hard, considering her last two deployments something has happened to her. Every time her phone rings I get nervous that it's her commander calling her away. It was nice while she was recovering but I knew she wasn't happy. And I can see the happiness back in her since being cleared. So I just have to take it day by day."

"I'm proud of you son, and I know your parents would be as well. You've grown up to be a fine young man."

"Thank you Robert. Means a lot to me." We finished lunch at about 1:15 and headed to the Morgenstern house. We got to base and pulled up to the entrance building.

"Mr. Herondale, good to see you. I hear today is the big day!" The guard said and I couldn't help but smile.

"That it is."

"Go right on in, and congratulations man."

"Thanks!" I said and we made our way to the house. I walked up to the room that was set up for the men to start getting ready. It didn't take is long. Only about 30 minutes. By now it's about 1:50 and I headed down to the backyard to get the two chairs ready for the ceremony.

We were standing around in the backyard talking until Magnus came down and told us that they would all be down soon. Everyone took their seats as Izzy stood near where Clary would be and Alec stood next to me. The music started and I looked up and my eyes met with Clary's. She smiled at me and I smiled back. She looked absolutely stunning. She made it to the alter and Valentine gave her hand to me and I took it. He kissed her on the cheek and went to sit down. She handed her bouquet to Izzy and we joined both hands.

"You look absolutely beautiful Clary."

"You look pretty amazing yourself." She giggled and I couldn't help but fall more in love with her. The priest started speaking but I couldn't help but get lost in Clary's eyes and her smile. I was totally lost when I heard the priest say something about our vows.

"Jace, would you like to recite your vows?" I nodded and looked at Clary and took a deep breath.

"Clary, I always knew that you were something different. Although I may not have known it in high school the moment I stepped into that restaurant and you were our server I knew that my life was going to change. I didn't know it would take over a year but the day we bumped into each other at the airport I knew it was now or never, and from that date on I was hooked." I squeezed her hands a little tighter, and she smiled. "I love you more than absolutely anything Clarissa. I've never loved anyone aside from family in my whole life, but when it comes to you, I don't know how not to love you. I can't wait to start our lives together and I can't wait to see where this life takes us together. I promise to love you, and protect you, and cherish you every moment for the rest of our lives." I took a deep breath before I continued. "Si intende il mondo mi Clarissa. E vi prometto di mostrare che ogni singolo giorno. Mi impegno a non andiamo a letto mad o mai lasciare che uno di noi per lasciare senza un bacio e un "ti amo". Ti prometto di fare della nostra vita la vita migliore immaginabile e prometto di amarti incondizionatamente fino al giorno che io muoia. Ti amo Clarissa." I slid the ring on her finger and looked up into her eyes. I could see the tears running down her face, and I instantly cupped her face and wiped them away. She took a couple seconds to compose herself before she started on her vows.

"Jace, growing up in the army never allowed me to get close to many people, and those I did get close too, never turned out for the best." I stiffened and she rubbed her thumbs over my knuckles and instantly relaxed. "I never thought that I'd ever get very far in life. I was smart, but I had a lot of demons that I couldn't quite figure out how to handle. You saw that first hand. But when you walked into my life something changed. Suddenly I wasn't all alone, and I didn't have to put up that front anymore. At least I could truly be myself in front of you, and I can't tell you how much that meant to me. You've helped me through a lot in the past couple years, and I can't even begin to thank you for that. I never though I'd see the day where I was truly happy, but you came into my life and made that possible. You make me laugh every single day, and you make every day enjoyable. I wake up in a good mood and I go to sleep feeling more loved than I ever have before." She looked down at our hands than back up to my eyes. "Ti amo Jace. Più di ogni altra cosa in questo mondo. Prometto di amarti ogni singolo giorno e vi prometto di mostrarvi quanto siete importanti per me. Non ho mai voglia di far dimenticare quanto siete importanti per me. Se siamo nella stessa casa o sto in tutto il mondo, prometto di mostrare e dirvi quanto vi amo, quanto il mio rispetto e il mio apprezzamento per voi ogni singolo giorno. Non posso attendere per vedere cosa ha in serbo il futuro per noi e non vedo l'ora di iniziare la nostra famiglia e continuare ad amarvi gli uni gli altri a partire da ora fino al giorno moriremo. Ti amo il mio amore." She slid the ring on my finger and I couldn't help but notice she was crying again and I couldn't help but smile at her words.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." We smiled at each other and I pulled her close, put my one arm around her waist and the other behind her head and kissed her. A couple of seconds pass before we break apart and look out to the crowed, all the women were crying and Robert and Valentine were filled with pride. "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Herondale." The use of my real name shocks me but I quickly brush it off. We make our way down to our parents where Jocelyn and Valentine pull Clary into a hug and Robert and Maryse pull me into a hug.

"Benvenuti alla famiglia Jace." Valentine says as Jocelyn pulls me into hug and he claps me on the back.

"È un piacere essere al di là di esso...papà." Valentine smiles and a tear escapes Jocelyn's eye.

The rest of the night went by in a blur. We danced, and laughed and had an amazing time bonding our two families together. Just after midnight everyone was exhausted we began to make our way up to our room. I unbuttoned my shirt and put my jacket and tie on the chair and turned towards Clary. I couldn't help but smile; I made my way over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist. I reached behind her and slowly unzipped her dress. I heard her gasp when she realized what I was doing. Once it was down the dress puddled around her ankles. I traced my fingers up her spine and I could feel her shiver. I leaned down and kissed her, she immediately deepened the kiss. I grabbed her and picked her up so that he legs wrapped around my waist and I led her to the bed. Before things got too heated. I broke the kiss and looked into her eyes.

"I love you Clarissa Herondale." She smiled from ear to ear as she twisted her hands in my hair.

"I love you too Jonathan Herondale." I kissed her one more time before we both stood up. We changed and when we got back into bed we cuddled for a while before sleep took us both over. Our first time together as husband and wife and I couldn't have pictured it anymore perfect.

 _Translation:_

 _Si intende il mondo mi Clarissa. E vi prometto di mostrare che ogni singolo giorno. Mi impegno a non andiamo a letto mad o mai lasciare che uno di noi per lasciare senza un bacio e un "ti amo". Ti prometto di fare della nostra vita la vita migliore immaginabile e prometto di amarti incondizionatamente fino al giorno che io muoia. Ti amo Clarissa. - You mean the world to me Clarissa. And I promise to show you that every single day. I promise to never let us go to bed mad, or never let either of us leave without a kiss and an 'I love you'. I promise to make our life the best imaginable and I promise to love you unconditionally until the day I die. I love you Clarissa._

 _Ti amo Jace. Più di ogni altra cosa in questo mondo. Prometto di amarti ogni singolo giorno e vi prometto di mostrarvi quanto siete importanti per me. Non ho mai voglia di far dimenticare quanto siete importanti per me. Se siamo nella stessa casa o sto in tutto il mondo, prometto di mostrare e dirvi quanto vi amo, quanto il mio rispetto e il mio apprezzamento per voi ogni singolo giorno. Non posso attendere per vedere cosa ha in serbo il futuro per noi e non vedo l'ora di iniziare la nostra famiglia e continuare ad amarvi gli uni gli altri a partire da ora fino al giorno moriremo. Ti amo il mio amore. - I love you Jace. More than anything in this world. I promise to show you how much you mean to me. I never want you to forget how important you are to me. Whether we're in the same house or I'm across the world, I promise to show and tell you how much I love you, or how much I respect you, or how much I appreciate you every single day. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us, and I can't wait to start our own family and continue to love each other from now until the day we die. I love you my love._

 _Benvenuti alla famiglia Jace. - Welcome to the family Jace_

 _È un piacere essere al di là di esso...papà- It's a pleasure to be apart of it...dad._


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

 **Time Jump-Three Months**

 **Clary POV:**

These last three months have been a world wind. Jace and I were happier than ever, and things just couldn't get better. I got a call a couple weeks ago from my commander saying that there was a position opening up at Camp Darby in Italy that they really wanted me to consider. I talked to Jace about it and we haven't come to a clear-cut decision but we were working on it. It would be an amazing opportunity and I would be lying if I said I didn't want to go back there, but Jace has a career here so making that move is a really big decision that I knew would take awhile to make.

Izzy and I were out shopping today. Her and Simon have been doing great lately and he recently asked her to move in with him and of course she said yes so we're here picking out some things for their house. According to Izzy it's 'way to lame for her to be living in'. We were walking around for a couple hours before I got hit with a wave of nausea. I didn't think anything of it until I could feel it in my throat. I ran to the nearest bathroom and emptied everything I had for lunch today. Izzy was hot on my heels.

"Are you okay Clary?" She gently rubbed my back as I made my way over to a chair.

"Yea, I'm good. I just don't know what that was."

"Do you think you're sick?"

"No. Maybe I'm just stressed with this whole potentially moving thing. Jace and I still haven't reached a decision and if we don't make our minds up soon they'll give it to someone else."

"Or…" She said and I looked at her. "Ever think that you might be pregnant?" She asked and I looked at her with confusion.

"I don't think so, I'm suppose to get my period…." I started but stopped myself immediately realizing I was late. "Oh shit." He eyes widened and the smile on her face was larger than the Cheshire cats.

"We can stop at a drug store right now and pick up a couple tests." I thought about it for a minute and nodded. We made our way to the CVS and picked up 4 pregnancy tests. We went into the bathroom and I peed on all 4 of them. We had to wait three minutes and they were the longest three minutes of my life. When the timer went off I just looked at Izzy. "Do you want me to look?" She asked and I nodded. She picked up all 4 of the tests and squealed. "All four are positive. You're going to be a mom!" She jumped up and down. "Hell, I'm going to be an aunt!" I couldn't help but smile and laugh at her reaction. "How are you going to tell Jace?"

"I don't know. I'm kinda still processing the news myself. I mean, a mom. That's so scary."

"But so exciting! You and Jace created another life, and you get to carry him or her for 9 months. You get to feel them grow, and move. That's so exciting." I was taking everything Izzy was saying in and I realized that she was right. This was super exciting. And Jace and I had created him or her. We were going to be parents, and I could stop the smile that formed as Izzy talked.

"How do you think I should tell him?"

"When is your 4 month anniversary coming up?"

"In two days."

"You should give him a card, saying something about being a dad, and give it to him, and the present can be all these pregnancy tests so he can see it for himself."

"Okay. Let's go get a card." The rest of the day was pretty normal. We found a card for Jace and finished with Izzy's shopping. I knew that this was going to be a hard secret to keep but I couldn't wait to see Jace's reaction.

 **Time Jump- Two Days Later**

 **Jace POV:**

It was little after 7 when I finally left the office. Clary said she had a surprise for me tonight, it was our four month anniversary so I figured she got me a gift or made me dinner. I stopped by a flower shop and picked her up some roses on my way home. If she was going to surprise me, I figured I could treat her to some flowers myself. When I walked into the house she was standing with her back towards me in the kitchen. I walked up behind her, I put my free arm around her waist and she gasped.

"Happy anniversary Mrs. Herondale." I whispered in her ear and I felt her shiver. I never got tired of calling her that.

"Happy anniversary to you as well Mr. Herondale. What are these for?" She grabbed the roses from hand and smelled them.

"You said you had a surprise for me tonight, so I thought I'd surprise you with some flowers."

"You're the sweetest." She gave me a quick kiss before she pulled a bag out. "This is my gift for you." I grabbed the bag and noticed that there was a car in there. I pulled the card out as Clary went back to making dinner. I opened it and on the front it said congratulation on it. I was confused, so I opened it up, on the inside it was blank except for one single word, 'dad' was written in Clary's hand writing. I was speechless. I forgot there was more in the bag for a moment so I took the tissue paper out and inside the bag was four pregnancy tests, all reading positive. I couldn't believe what I was reading. I looked up at Clary and I could see a smile on her face.

"Are you serious babe?"

"Very. You're going to be a dad." Before I knew it I was scooping her up into my arms and spinning her around in the kitchen.

"When did you find out?" I placed her back down on the ground to look into her eyes.

"Two days ago. I was at the mall and I got sick, and Izzy suggested that I might be pregnant and so I took some tests and they were all positive." She smiled and I saw tears welling up in her eyes.

"This is the most amazing news I could ever hear." I kissed her. "I can't believe we're going to be parents."

"I know. It's so surreal yet so exciting." I hugged her again and 5 minutes later we were sitting down to dinner. I still couldn't believe but than it hit me, this will really be a factor in our decision to be stationed at Camp Darby in Italy.

"Hey babe, what are we going to do with the whole Camp Darby position that you're up for?"

"I don't know. I was thinking about that. And there are pros and cons to it. As much as I would love to go back to Italy, and have our baby where I was born and show you Italy, we'd be away from our family, and you have a job here. I want them all to be involved in our child's life and that would be hard if we were in Italy." I knew once her commander offered her the job she was immediately planning for our move. I knew she wanted to go back. I could see it in her eyes when she talks about it. I have been talking to Alec about it and my boss and if we ended up moving they told me that I would always have a job with them when I came back. I was looking at my wife who looked so conflicted, and I knew it was because she felt like I wasn't excited about it. But I was. I was so proud of her for being basically recruited for the job and I realize that I've never told her that. I never told her how proud I was of her, or how I was willing to move across the ocean with her.

"Hey babe." She looked at me. "I would be more than happy to raise our child in Italy." Her eyes immediately lit up.

"Are you serious?" She nearly screamed.

"Absolutely. I've been talking to Alec and my boss ever since your commander offered you the position, and they told me that if we did end up moving that I would always have a job waiting back at the firm when or if we came back. I don't want you to ever regret giving up this opportunity because you were trying to keep me happy." I could see her beginning to cry. "I have never been happier in my life, and I can only imagine my happiness going up when we move to Italy. I can be a stay at home dad, so our child can grow up loving life."

"You'd do that for me?"

"I'd do anything for you Clary." I reached across the table and grabbed her hand. "So, Clarissa Herondale, how would you like to move to Italy with me?"

"I would absolutely love it!" She screamed and ran over to me and kissed me. "We need to tell everyone!"

"How about we invite them all over this weekend. It would be the perfect time to tell them both of our good news." She nodded and threw her arms around my neck again. This was going to be an amazing ride and I couldn't wait to share it with Clary and our child.

 **Time Jump- The Weekend**

 **Clary POV:**

My parents got here last night and everyone was coming over really soon. I was so nervous but so excited to tell everyone. It was so hard keeping it from my parents but I wanted everyone to be together when we told them. The doorbell rang and I ran to it and was greeted by Jace's family. I hugged them all and invited them in. A couple minutes later Izzy and Simon showed but followed by Will and Tessa, and finally Alec and Magnus showed up. We were all gathered in the living room and I stood up.

"So the reason you're all here today is because Jace and I have some exciting news." Everyone looked riddled with anticipation. "I was offered a position at Camp Darby in Italy and Jace and I were talking a couple nights ago and we've decided that I'm going to take it. So in a couple weeks Jace and I are moving to Italy." Jace and I were standing there in silence for a couple moments until my dad broke the silence.

"That's wonderful. I can't believe you're going back to Camp Darby after all these years. I'm so proud of you Clary." After that we were bombarded with congratulations.

"We have more." I looked at Jace and nodded.

"We're pregnant." Jace said and the room erupted with cheers and screams from all the girls. My mom immediately hugged me followed by Izzy and Tessa. Alec, Will and Simon were congratulating Jace.

"I can't believe I'm going to be a grandma!" my mom says and hugs me again. "How far along are you?"

"I haven't gone to the doctor yet, but I would imagine that I'm about a month or two along."

"This is so exciting! I want it to be a girl!" Izzy squeals and I just laugh and shake my head.

"I'll be happy with whatever we have as long as they are healthy." I lean into Jace's side and he kisses my forehead.

The rest of the night passes uneventfully and before I know it Jace is carrying me upstairs. I didn't even realize that I had fallen asleep. He put me down on the bed, took my shirt off and my jeans, he put one of his shirts on me and I curled up in the bed and drifted off to sleep.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

 **Time Jump- Six Months**

 **Clary POV:**

These last six months have been absolutely chaotic. Jace and I have been settled in Italy for about 5 and a half months and we were loving every minute of it. I was currently on leave from my position because I was almost 8 months pregnant and my doctor told me to take it easy. Jace and I were enjoying out time together. And I was also super excited because tomorrow my parents, Jace's parents, and Izzy and Alec were all coming over to visit us. They will all be staying until the baby is born. It was going to be a crazy month but I was so excited for them all to be coming over!

"Jace!" I called from my spot in the living room.

"Yea babe?"

"Can you get me some ice cream?"

"It's not even noon yet Clare."

"But I'm craving some cookie dough ice cream and so is your son! You wouldn't deprive him of ice cream would you?" I call back and I can hear him laugh. A few minutes later he walks into the living room with my bowl of ice cream. I smile up at him and giggle. "Thank you babe. I love you."

"I love you too." He gives me a quick kiss before heading back into the kitchen.

The rest of the day went by slowly, like most of the other days since I wasn't allowed to go to work. I was so excited when it was nighttime and I was allowed to go to bed. Although I didn't sleep well because of how often my son kicks, but even a restless night was better than nothing. When I woke up it was already past 10:30. I looked around and realized that Jace was nowhere to be found. I walked around the entire house and I didn't find Jace anywhere. When I finally went to the kitchen to get something to eat there was a note on the counter. Jace had gone to pick up our family from the airport and would be back around noon. I got some food and made myself comfortable in my usual spot on the couch. An hour later I could hear the key giggle in the door.

"Hey babe, we're home!" Jace called and I could hear all the voices. I removed the blanket from my legs and stood up. I walked into the foyer to greet my family. Jace walked over to me a kissed my forehead before making sure all the bags were out of the way.

"I'm so glad you all are here. I've missed you all so much!" I hug each of them the best I could with my belly always getting in the way.

"Oh baby, you're so big! When are you due again?" My mom asked as she rubbed my belly.

"April 19th is my official due date."

"That's so soon! Have you gotten the nursery all set up?" Izzy asks.

"We have everything, but we figured you'd want to set it up when you got here. Everything is up there, its just up to you what you want to do with it."

"You never did tell us what you were having." I smile. I wanted it to be a secret until they got here.

"Well why don't you go upstairs and see what we got for the nursery." Izzy immediately runs upstairs, not even a minute later she screams.

"Oh my god! You're having a boy!" She screams and we can all hear her. Immediately everyone starts to congratulate us.

"Alright, why don't I make you all something to eat." I say as I waddle into the kitchen.

"No at all Clare. You sit down and catch up with our family and I'll make lunch." Jace says as he pulls out my chair.

"I can't wait to have him so I can go back to doing things." I rub my belly and I feel him kick.

"Are you on bed rest?"

"No, but my doctor told me I have to take it easy. For the past month I've been on house arrest. It's horrible."

"Why? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but since I'm so tiny it's a lot on my body and my doctor wants to try and limit the risks of preterm labor or anything else that could possibly go wrong. So until this baby is born I'm on restricted access to almost everything."

"Well Jace, whatever you need our help with just ask away. We won't let Clary lift a finger while we're here." My mom said and I groaned. "I'm sorry sweetie but I'm not risking it. My grandson is too important to me, and you're just as important. I don't want anything happening to either of you."

"Well, Jace hasn't let me do anything so I just sit on the couch and call out if I need anything."

"Good boy." My mom said and I laughed. Having our family around was going to be amazing. As much as I love it just being Jace and I, sometimes I go crazy when he has to go out and get something and I'm stuck at home alone. I couldn't wait for this next month with them all.

 **Time Jump-One Month**

 **Clary POV:**

I woke up with a sharp pain in my stomach. I looked around and saw that it was 3 o'clock in the morning. I looked down at my stomach and realized that I was sitting in a pool of water, than it hit me, my water broke. I started hitting Jace trying to get him to wake up.

"What's up babe?" He said in his sexy groggy voice.

"My water just broke." I said and he immediately shot up.

"Che cosa?!" He shouted. It was kinda cute that his first thought was to say it in Italian.

"Get everyone up and get me to a hospital." I said and Jace was immediately out of the door. I got up changed my clothes and by the time I was done Jace was back. We got into the car and drove to the hospital, I walked in and Jace immediately screamed.

"Mia moglie è in lavoro!" Two nurses were by my side in a minute putting me in a wheel chair.

"Come distanti sono le contrazioni?" One of the nurses asked.

"A circa dieci minuti." I responded as I was hit with another contraction. I screamed out in pain as I death gripped Jace's hand. They settled me into a room and hooked me up to a bunch of machines. Jace was by my side the whole time and my family never left my room.

It wasn't until after 8 hours that I was finally ready to push. My family graciously stepped out of the room so that it was only Jace and I. After pushing for what seemed like forever we finally heard the screams of our baby boy. After the nurses cleaned him off, they handed me my baby swaddled in a blue blanket. When I saw his face for the first time I cried. I looked up at Jace and I could see tears in his eyes. He leaned down and kissed me than kissed our little boy.

After about 15 minutes I told Jace to go get our family so they could meet him. They all walked in and I was greeted with awes from everyone. My mom asked to hold him first and I handed him over to her. I scooted over and Jace took his side next to me on the bed. I couldn't help but smile at my family.

"What did you name him?"

"Carter Alexander Herondale." Jace said and I could hear the intake of breath from Alec.

"Thanks man." Alec finally said. "That really means a lot." Jace got up and hugged him. Carter started to cry so my mom handed him back to me. I looked around the room before speaking.

"Does anyone mind if I feed him?" I asked and all the men but Jace stepped out of the room. I removed my gown and allowed Carter to get a firm grab on my boob.

"He looks just like you Jace." My mom said and I couldn't help but smile. "He has such blonde hair."

"I know. I hope he gets his gold eyes. The next one can look like me, but I want this one to look like you." I said as I looked at Jace. Jace just smiled and kissed my forehead. After I finished feeding Carter I handed him over to Jace and he burped him and rocked him to sleep. Our family stayed for a while longer and by nighttime they had all gone back to our house. It was just me, Jace and Carter.

A week later I was released and Carter and I made our way home. The first few nights were rough but we soon got the hang of it. Everyone was getting ready for their departure at the end of this week and I was sad to see them go, but I loved having them here for such a long time.

"I expect lots of pictures from you guys." Izzy said as we gave her a hug. "I'm not kidding I need to get a picture every month and for every milestone. I can't miss out on my nephew's life!"

"Of course Izzy. I'll send you all pictures all the time."

"Good!" I made my way over to my parents.

"I'm really going to miss you guys." I said as I started to cry and they pulled me into a hug.

"You'll be okay babygirl." My dad said. "You are a great mother and Jace is a great father. That boy is lucky to have you guys as parents. But we're only a phone call away. Don't forget that." My father kissed me on the top of my head.

"I'm so proud of you baby." My mom says. "Just seeing you the past week with Carter warms my heart." He kisses me on the cheek and we make the rest of our goodbyes before our house is silent.

"This is strange." I say and Jace just laughs.

"I know, I got so used to all the noise I forgot what it was like with it just being the two of us."

"Three of us." I corrected him as I tickled Carter's belly and he giggled. "I love you so much Jace."

"I love you more than anything Clary." He kissed me and than kissed Carter. "And I love him more than I thought was humanly possible."

"I know what you mean. I didn't think I could love someone so much, but when he was born I just was filled with so much love." We spent the rest of the day lounging around on the couch playing with Carter and enjoying our time as a family for the first time since he was born. My life couldn't be more perfect.

 **Time Jump-A Week Later**

 **Clary POV:**

I was at home getting ready to cook lunch, Carter was sitting in his bassinet on the island when I dropped a lot of pans, I immediately turned to see if Carter would start crying but he didn't even blink. I looked at him and grabbed a pan and slammed in on the ground again, again he didn't even flinch. I immediately called the doctor on base and asked if that was normal. She told me that I should go to the hospital and get it checked out.

I was freaking out when I got to the hospital. They took us back immediately. The doctor took some tests and examined Carter. It felt like forever when the doctor came back with the results.

"What's wrong with my son?" I asked in a frantic voice.

"After all the tests I ran, I have come to the diagnosis. Your son is deaf." My heart immediately dropped to my stomach.

"What? How is that possible?"

"Sometimes things happen that can't be explained, but I believe it was passed down in through your genes. Is anyone in your family deaf?"

"Not that I know of."

"What about your husbands?"

"He doesn't know much about his family."

"I would ask him, but for right now we can't do anything until your son is older. I would start learning sign language if that's how you want to communicate with him for the time being."

"Thank you doctor." I picked up Carter and made my way home. When I walked into our house I was met with a frantic looking Jace.

"Where were you Clary? I came home and you and Carter were gone."

"I had to take him to the doctor."

"Is he okay?" I shook my head and broke down. He placed Carter's carrier down on the ground and wrapped his arms around me while I let it all out. After about 10 minutes I was able to control my emotions. "What happened Clary?"

"I was making lunch and I dropped all the pans and I looked over at Carter and he didn't even flinch at the noise. So I picked up a pot and slammed it on the ground and he didn't even blink. So I called the doctor on base and she told me to go to the hospital. When I got there they took us back immediately and after they finished running tests on him they cam back in and told me that he's deaf."

"What? How is that possible?"

"They think it's genetic."

"Do you have anyone in your family who is deaf?"

"No. Do you?" I could see him thinking.

"I don't know. I don't know my family all that well."

"They said it's too early for them to do anything, but we should start learning sign language if we want to be able to communicate with him."

"We'll do whatever we have to for him Clare. He's still our little boy and we still love him more than anything. Who cares if he can hear or not. He's healthy, and he's happy and he's ours. That's all that matters to me." He smiled and I couldn't help but smile back. I picked up Carter and I cuddled him into my side as I leaned into Jace. I kissed Carter and even though he couldn't hear me I whispered I love you to him and we stayed like that for a little while. Embracing each other and basking in the comfort of each other, knowing that everything would be okay.

 _Translation:_

 _Che cosa?!- What?!_

 _Mia moglie è in lavoro!- My wife is in labor!_

 _Come distanti sono le contrazioni?- How far apart are your contractions?_

 _A circa dieci minuti.- About 10 minutes._


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

 **Time Jump-Six Months**

 **Clary POV:**

Carter was progressing really well despite being deaf. We had taught him to recognize a couple things in sign language that he kind of understood. He was a smart baby, and he was so full of energy, he just brought a smile to Jace and I's face every single day. It was a normal Friday afternoon where Jace, and I were just hanging out with Carter and playing with some blocks when my phone went off. I got up and looked to see that my commander was calling me.

"Hello sir."

"Morge….I mean Herondale. That's gonna take some getting used too. I haven't had to call you by name in a very long time." I let out a small laugh.

"What do you need sir?"

"Iraq. There has been some strange activity over there in the past couple months and we need our best intelligence analyst on the job." My heart immediately sank.

"For how long?"

"That all depends on how efficient you are. It could be as short as 2 months or as long as 8."

"When do I leave sir?"

"A week." We said our goodbyes and I went back to join Jace and Carter in the living room.

"Who was that babe?"

"My commander." I could see his face drop.

"When do you leave?" I could hear the sadness in his voice.

"A week."

"For how long?"

"Depends on how efficient I am. He said it could take anywhere from 2 to 8 months." I walked over and wrapped my arms around Jace and Carter. I gave them both a kiss before Jace's forehead rested on mine. "I'm so sorry."

"Why Clare?"

"Because this job really sucks sometimes."

"We knew this was going to happen babe. We can get through it. I know we can. Carter and I will be just fine holding down the fort while you're gone. Just come back to us." I smiled and kissed him again.

"I will always come back to you. Both of you." I poked Carter's belly and he giggled. I kissed him on his chubby cheeks and soaked in his smile.

"We love you Clary."

"I love you both so much."

 **Time Jump-One Week**

 **Jace POV:**

Today was the day Clary had to leave. I've been dreading this day for the whole week, but I knew that she had to go. I knew somewhere deep inside her she was happy to be going and serving her country but I couldn't imagine how hard it was for her to be leaving Carter. They had rarely been apart since he was born and depending how long this mission took she could potentially be gone for some big milestones in his life. We made it to the airport and found her terminal. She put her bag on the ground and turned towards Carter and I. I could see the tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm going to miss you so much." She said and I opened my one arm that wasn't holding Carter and she ran into me. Of course we had an audience. Whenever someone shows up in uniform there was always going to be people staring.

"We're going to miss you too babe, but call us at whatever time you want. If you want to hear Carter's strange noises I'll wake him up for you. We can do this." I tried to reassure her the best I could but it was hard because I was freaking out myself.

"Send me videos of everything he does that's new. I don't want to miss a thing." I wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Of course babe." Her plane was now boarding and she looked behind her before looking back at me.

"I love you so much Jace."

"I love you more than anything Clary. Come home to us." I gave her one last kiss. "Go, you'll miss your flight." She nodded, picked up her bag and blew one last kiss to Carter and I. I grabbed his hand and waved goodbye. This was going to be the longest couple months of our lives.

 **Time Jump-Two Months Later**

 **Jace POV:**

Today Carter was turning 8 months old. He was growing up to be such a spirited little boy. He is so much more advanced than the other 8 month olds, but coming from a woman like Clary, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest. He could say please in sign language, and he could say thank you. The first time he did it I almost cried. I really did. I made him do it again so I could send it to Clary. I knew what it was like to have Clary deployed but having Carter here with me this time made everything a little easier. He reminded me of her every single day, and he definitely kept me entertained.

Clary's parents were actually coming to stay with Carter and I for a couple weeks. They would be getting here sometime this afternoon. They haven't seen Carter since he was born, and we didn't want to tell anyone that he was deaf because we didn't want to do it over the phone or through an email. I was feeding Carter when there was a knock on the door. I went to open it to find Valentine and Jocelyn standing there.

"Welcome back guys." I said as I shook Valentine's hand and gave Jocelyn a hug. "How was your flight?"

"It was good, very long. How are you and Carter doing?"

"I actually have some news about Carter." I lead them into the kitchen where Carter smiled at them. "About a week or so after Carter was born Clary noticed something off about him. She took him to the doctor and turns out Carter is deaf."

"How is that possible?" Jocelyn asked in a shocked voice.

"The doctor thinks it could be genetic."

"Well we don't have any deaf people in our family. Do you?" Valentine asked.

"I don't know. I currently have Alec and Will combing through my family history. They haven't found anything yet."

"So he can't hear anything?"

"Not a single thing, but that doesn't stop him. Clary and I use sign language around him. He has a couple phrases down, like please and thank you, or mom and dad. The doctor says he's advanced for his age, which doesn't surprise me. He is Clary's son."

"Clary was the same way as a baby. She was walking before her first birthday and she said her first full sentence about a week after that. She was always an extraordinary child."

"That's where he gets it from. He is trying to walk now, but he hasn't quite figured it out yet." I laughed and so did they. I looked over at Carter and he was using the please sign. I gave him more food and he signed thank you and I gave him a little kiss.

"I can't believe he's deaf. Why didn't you or Clary tell us?"

"We didn't want to tell anyone over the phone or email. We wanted to tell you all in person. We were scared and shocked at first, but he's still the same, just doesn't have his hearing."

"Well, I'm very glad we're here. We've missed him so much. A week with him wasn't enough after he was born." Jocelyn raised her arms and Carter and he looked at me before I nodded and he lifted his arms as well. Jocelyn picked him up and looked at me. "How do you say grandma in sign language?" I showed her and she signed it to Carter, he just smiled and giggled a little.

"It'll take a little while for him to figure out who you are, but he's pretty good at remember faces."

"Valentine when we get home we should learn how to sign. I want to be able to communicate with Carter when he's older."

"Of course Joce. I think everyone in the family should know how to sign." I nodded in agreement.

"I was thinking the same thing. Would you guys mind having like a huge family party or something at your house to let everyone else know? I want them to hear in person but I won't see them until we're back in the states and I have no idea when that will be."

"Are you sure you want us to tell them? I don't want to take that away from you and Clary."

"I have no idea how long Clary will be deployed, and I think if you all start learning now, once Carter is old enough to understand we can all have fluent conversations instead of learning as we go. I just think it would be easier to start now so that when he is older he doesn't feel out of place in a hearing family. You know?"

"I totally agree. I'll call Maryse and Robert and set something up for two weeks away. And I'll tell her to invite everyone." Valentine says.

"Thank you. It means a lot to me." I was about to continue but my phone rang. I looked at it and it was Clary.. "Hey babe. How are you?"

"I'm alright. Exhausted. This project is taking forever. How are my two favorite boys?"

"We're good. Guess who arrived today?"

"Oh that's right! My parents came to visit. Did you tell them about Carter?"

"I did and they agreed to tell the rest of the family for us." I could hear her about to protest but I continued. "I know you want to tell them all in person babe but lets face it, they aren't going to be coming to Italy anytime soon to visit and who knows when we'll be back in the states, so I thought your parents could tell them so that they could all start learning sign language now so that when Carter is old enough to communicate he doesn't feel out of place in our family."

"I hate when you're right." I smiled and I heard her laugh. "I miss you guys."

"We miss you too. Do you have any idea when you could come home?"

"Well, if I did the math right, I could be home at the earliest in about 4 months." I sighed and my head fell into my hand.

"Okay babe." I didn't know what else to say, she was going to be gone for 4 more months and she was potentially going to miss Carter's first birthday.

"Can you put my mom on?"

"Of course." I handed the phone to Jocelyn and told her it was Clary.

 **Jocelyn POV:**

"Hey baby. How are you doing?"

"I'm good mom. How are you and dad?"

"We're fantastic. I can't believe how much Carter has grown since we last saw him. He looks exactly like Jace."

"I know. He has a little mini me. I can't wait to have another one. I want her to look like me." I got up from my chair and started to walk into the living room. Jace and Valentine were too preoccupied with Carter to notice.

"You want another one?"

"Of course I do. Jace does too. But it's kinda hard with me being in Iraq."

"How long until you're home?"

"I told Jace 4 months, but I'm coming home in a couple weeks. I am so close to finishing this project that they don't need me after that. I want to surprise him. Can you help me?"

"Sure. Your father and I are staying for two weeks, will you be home by then?"

"Yes, I should be home in early February. When are you leaving?"

"Our flight is on February 5th."

"Perfect, I think I can be on the next flight home February 2nd. So I'd arrive February 3rd."

"So what do you want to do?"

"I was thinking you all could go out to lunch or something and I'd show up at the restaurant. Nothing big but I want him to be surprised and I don't think he'll be expecting it if you all are out of the house."

"Alright baby, I'll set it up. Do you want to talk to Jace or your father?"

"No, cause it was hard enough not telling him when we were talking, just let all three of my favorite men know that I love them."

"I will baby. I love you."

"I love you too mom." I hung up and walked back into the kitchen.

"How is she?" Valentine asks.

"She's good. She wanted me to tell you all she loves you." I smiled at all three of them and I just couldn't wait to see the look of Jace and Valentine's face when Clary comes home to surprise them.

 **Time Jump-Two Weeks**

 **Clary POV:**

Today was the day I was surprising Jace with my arrival home. I am sitting on the plane waiting for it to get to the airport and I was internally freaking out. I couldn't wait to be home with Jace and my baby. I thought leaving Jace was hard but leaving Carter behind was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I cried almost the whole way to Iraq. It was so hard. When the plane finally got to it's destination I got off with my bag and made my way to the rental car that I was using to get to the restaurant. My mom told me she picked our favorite local place. It took me about 25 minutes to get there. I stood outside for a few minutes trying to compose myself. When I was finally done shaking, I opened the door and saw my mom, thankfully she got Jace and my dad to sit on the sit of the table so that there back were facing me.

My mom and I made eye contact and I could tell she was trying her hardest to act normal. I walked all the way back to them and tapped Jace on the shoulder. He didn't turn around at first, so I tapped his shoulder again. He seemed a little agitated and refused to turn around, so I tried a third time. This time I got a response.

"I'm married." I couldn't help but laugh. I knew women flirted with him regularly, and this was comforting knowing that this was what he told them.

"I know, and your wife would like a kiss." I said and his head immediately wiped around and he stood up. Before I could do anything he scooped me up into a hug and gave me a long awaited kiss.

"Oh my god Clary, what are you doing home? Not that I'm not excited, because I am, but what are you doing here?"

"I finished my assignment, and they didn't need me anymore. I wanted to surprise you."

"This is the most amazing thing." He kissed me again and he bent over and picked Carter up and as soon as he saw Clary he started to giggle. "Mommy's home buddy." Carter reached for me and I picked him up and gave him a huge hug. Jace pulled us both in and I was so thankful that my family was back together again. When we broke apart I handed Carter back to Jace as I turned around and saw my dad.

"Hi daddy." I said as I ran into his arms.

"It's so good to have you back. We missed you."

"I've missed you guys too. I wish I got more than two days with you but I'll take what I can get." We finished our meal at the restaurant and made our way back to our house. When I got home I changed out of my uniform and made my way back downstairs to hang out with my family. I took a seat on the couch next to Jace and we just started talking. Carter was sitting on Jace's lap until he started getting restless, Jace picked him up and put him on the ground and he started walking.

"Oh my god!" Jace shouted, and I just laughed. "He finally got the hang of it!" I couldn't help but smile.

"I'm glad he waited until I was here to see it." I wiped the tear away from my eye, I couldn't help but get emotional seeing my baby walk for the first time. Jace picked Carter up and threw him into the air and we all sat around and laughed and enjoyed Carter's accomplishments. Nothing could have been more perfect even if I wanted them to be.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

 **Jocelyn POV:**

Saying goodbye to Clary, Jace and Carter was hard. I never imagined being a grandma but not being able to see my grandson on a daily basis is really hard. Valentine and I were currently on the plane heading home. Being in Italy brings me back to when Valentine and I were stationed there. Before I knew it we were landing back in New York. Tomorrow everyone would be coming to stay with us for a weekend, and I was super excited to have them visit. We were on the way home when Valentine pulled me out of my thought.

"What are you thinking about Joce?" He rested his hand on my thigh.

"About Carter, and Italy and everything. Being back there brought back all of my memories of when they were kids, it just seems like it was a lifetime ago."

"I know what you mean, I mean it's still strange that Clary is a mother. She's my little girl, and its weird that she has a little one of her own."

"I always knew she was going to be a good mother. She wants more." I looked over to see the shocked look on his face.

"Really?"

"Yea. She wants one that looks like her. Carter is the spitting image of Jace, and as much as Clary loves Jace, she wants one that resembles her. It's weird when your children don't look like you. When Jonathan was born and looked exactly like you it felt like I made no contribution to his genes." He laughed and I couldn't help but smile. "Sebastian was a mix, but when Clary was born, and she had my hair and my eyes I could just tell she was my little baby and it warmed my heart. Clary wants that as well."

"I guess I never really thought about it like that. Well, both of them are amazing with Carter, and I didn't think he was going to be an only child for long."

"I don't either. Especially with her just getting back from deployment. I mean, I know it was only two months, but being apart like that really gets you in the mood." I smirked and looked at Valentine.

"Is that so?" He smiled back at me and squeezed my knee.

"How do you think Sebastian happened? You were deployed for 9 months, and when you got back I was needy." He just laughed at me while we pulled up to our house. The rest of the night was pretty relaxing. I would worry about getting the rooms ready tomorrow, but right now I just wanted to relax on the couch watching trashy television with my husband.

By noon the next day I had gotten all the rooms ready for peoples arrivals and I had made dinner that was currently simmering in the crockpot in the kitchen. The doorbell rang and when I opened it the whole Lightwood family was there with their significant others. The only people we were waiting for was Will and Tessa who had informed me that they would be late.

By dinner time everyone was sitting around the table eating and having small talk until Izzy took the brief pause in everyone's conversation to ask me about Italy.

"How was Italy Jocelyn?"

"It was amazing. Carter is the spitting image of Jace. He is so precious. They all seem to be doing really well. But Jace and Clary both asked me to set this whole dinner up because there is some news about Carter that they thought you all should hear in person."

"Is something wrong with him?" Alec asked in a slightly nervous tone.

"Not something bad, but something. About a week or so after we all left Clary was at home with him and she dropped a bunch of pans. She immediately looked at Carter incase he cried from all the loud noise, but apparently he didn't even blink. She picked up a pot and slammed it on the ground while looked at him and nothing. She called the base doctor and she told Clary to take him to the hospital. After a lot of tests were performed they came to the diagnosis that Carter is deaf." I looked around to see shock on everyone's faces.

"That's why Jace was asking us all those questions." Alec said as he faced Will.

"What questions?" Maryse asked.

"Jace called awhile back and asked Will and I too look into his family history for anything that was a medical problem. And when I asked what he meant by that he said and I quote 'heart failure, cancer, deafness. You know things like that.' But I just thought it was because maybe something was wrong with him, or some doctor needed to know. I mean, he lost his parents when he was 10 so I doubt he knew much of anything. I mean he didn't even know Will existed until he was being charged with first degree murder."

"Is deafness genetic?" Will asks.

"That's what the doctor told Clary. And we have no history of deafness in our family, and since Jace doesn't know his family history, it could be from him." Valentine says. There was a moment of silence before someone broke it.

"How is Carter doing?" Robert asked.

"He's absolutely amazing. Clary and Jace already sign to him, and he as picked up a few phrases. He's walking, he's so happy. He's brilliant. The doctors say he's advanced for his age."

"I'm not surprised." Maryse stated. "I knew Jace's parents. We went to school together and stayed in touch, I knew Jace as a baby. He was advanced for his age as well, but Jace naturally as the be the best at everything he does."

"And Clary is a certified genius and was talking before her first birthday, so it makes sense that their kid would be superior to other babies." Valentine said and I couldn't help but laugh. He was always bragging about Clary.

"The other reason I wanted to have a big family meeting was that Jace and Clary wanted you all to know now because they want us all to learn how to sign. They want us to be able to have fluent conversations by the time Carter is older so that he doesn't feel like an outsider in our family. And Valentine and I agree. I think we should all start now so that we have a couple years of practice in before we are going to start needing it in everyday life."

"I think that would be what's best. I would like to communicate with my grandson."

"So it's settled, everyone will start taking sign language classes, and before we know it there will be a bunch of signers in this family!" Everyone agrees and we make more small talk before dinner is over. They all took the news rather well, and while Valentine was cleaning up I decided that I was going to call Clary. The phone rang a couple times before she picked up.

"Hello?" She answered and she sounded tired. I immediately forgot about the time difference.

"Shit babe, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking about the difference."

"It's okay mom. What's up?"

"We had the family gathering tonight and it went really well. Everyone agreed to learn how to sign and Alec and Will are still combing through Jace's family history."

"I'm really glad mom. Thanks for calling. I'll talk to you later, I have to be up early for work, but I'll have Jace FaceTime you at some point tomorrow so everyone can see Carter."

"Sounds good baby. I love you."

"I love you too mom." We hung up and I made my way back into the kitchen to help Valentine. I was so worried about telling everyone, not knowing what they were going to say but thankfully they all took it really well and now it's time to learn some sign language. I mean I can't be that hard. Right?


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

 **Time Jump-Carter's First Birthday**

 **Clary POV:**

Today was Carter's first birthday and I honestly can't believe a year has passed since he was born. It seems like the other day Jace and I were packing up everything and moving to Italy, and now we were celebrating our child's first birthday. We weren't doing anything big, I had taken the day off from work so that we could spend the day together. There would be a small cake but honestly all Carter was going to do was slam his hands into it, but what's a birthday without a cake?

I was standing in the bakery when I got that nauseous feeling again, the same one I got in the mall that one day with Izzy. On my way home I decided to pick up some tests. I was a week late, but it never really dawned on me that I could be pregnant. When I got home Jace was in the kitchen with Carter finishing lunch. I put the cake down, kissed my boys and went up to our room. I went into the bathroom and pulled out the two pregnancy tests. After the three minutes were up and I looked at both of them. Positive. We were going to have another child. I jumped up and down, I was so excited. When I went downstairs Jace was cleaning up after Carter and I couldn't get the giant smile off my face.

"You look extra happy today babe." Jace said as he kissed my cheek.

"Well, it is Carter's first birthday. How can you not smile when this cutie is turning 1 and getting a little sibling." I said in my baby voice, even though he couldn't hear me I couldn't resist talking in a baby voice around him. Once I heard a plate drop, I turned around to see Jace standing by the sink with a shocked look on his face.

"Really?"

"Really. I just took two tests, both positive." Before I could say another word Jace scooped me up and spun me around.

"How far along?"

"I think only a couple weeks. I'll set up an appointment with my doctor for sometimes this week."

"This is so exciting! Now, we have two amazing things to celebrate today." He kissed me and I kissed him back. "I love you so much Clary."

"I love you too Jace, and I can't wait to have your second baby." I rubbed my hands over my nonexistent baby bump, but I knew he or she was in there cooking. His hands were immediately on mine and his forehead was resting on mine. Tears started welling up in my eyes as I looked into his. He smiles and kissed my nose as the tears spilled out of my eyes as I smiled at him. We stood there embracing until we felt Carter walk up and hug our legs. We both looked down and smiled at our little boy. I picked him up and leaned back into Jace's side as Carter hugged both Jace and I. He knew something exciting was happening, he had the biggest smile on his face. The rest of the day was just as exciting as the beginning. As I predicted Carted slammed his hands into the cake. We FaceTimed with the family and told them the good news. They were all really excited for us. Everything was turning out to be extremely perfect.

 **Time Jump-Six Months**

 **Clary POV:**

I'm almost 7 months pregnant when commander calls me in for a meeting. I dress in my maternity fatigues and make my way to his office. I have no idea what he wants to talk about considering I can't be deployed while pregnant. I get there about 10 minutes early and I'm sitting outside his office while rubbing my belly and bouncing my leg up and down. When I was finally called into his office I was sweating through my uniform and I was a nervous wreck.

"Intelligence Analyst Clarissa Herondale, please, have a seat." I took my seat and kept bouncing. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. Tired, but I'm getting through it."

"Do you know what you're having?"

"It's a girl." I smile and rub my belly again. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of having a little girl.

"Congratulations. I want to talk about the possibility of you moving back to Fort Hamilton."

"Why sir?"

"About a month ago we had a mole on base. There was a mishap with the security team and at one point we had no guards and some civilians get on base and they ended up injuring a couple dependents. It was an inside job but so far nobody ahs been able to find the person behind the mole. I know you're history with computers. According to the University of Arizona you were pretty handy with hacking, although not normally sought after, I really want to catch the person who was behind this. We can't have our bases vulnerable to attacks. This time it was just injuries, but next time it could be death." The whole time he was talking all I could think about was Simon and Izzy, they lived on that base and it could easily be them who are injured.

"I'll have to talk to my husband. When do you need an answer?"

"By the end of the week."

"Will do sir."

"Thank you for stopping by Herondale." We saluted and I made my way back to my car and headed home. I walk in to see Jace and Carter playing with some building blocks.

"Hey babe. How was your meeting?" Jace says and I pick up Carter and place him on my lap.

"Interesting. They want me back in Fort Hamilton."

"Really?"

"Yea, apparently there is a security breach and it was an inside job. They haven't been able to locate the source so they want me to poke around. And make the security better. I mean, I'm still pregnant for another three months, and I'll be out of commission for another 6 or so after she's born so I'm not deploying anytime soon. Plus, Simon and Izzy live there, and apparently there have been injuries, and I don't want them getting hurt. If I can help, I want too." I looked at Jace as I let Carter down. "We've lived here for two years. It's been completely amazing, and I've loved every minute of it, but if we're back in New York everyone can see Carter and our little girl more, you can go back to work with Alec, and spend more time with Will. I think it would be good for us."

"I think you're absolutely right. When do we have to leave?"

"I don't know. I have to tell my commander my answer by the end of the week, and we'll take it from there."

"Sounds good babe. Let's go out to lunch and celebrate!"

"Sounds great. Let me go change and we can leave." I stand up from the couch and run upstairs to change out of my uniform. Jace and I grabbed one of Carter's hands and made our way out to the car. Driving to the restaurant I couldn't help but smile. Nothing could ever really bring this family down. We were going to have an amazing life in the states and I couldn't wait to be closer to my family.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty Two**

 **Time Jump-Two Months**

 **Clary POV:**

My due date was approaching and I was so excited. After telling my commander that I would take the position at Fort Hamilton but he assured me that I wouldn't have to move until after my baby was born. He didn't want to put me in a stressful situation and cause any harm to me or the baby and I was really thankful for that. Most of our things were already packed and shipped back to the states, and my parents were making sure that the house was all set up so that once we got there we didn't have to do much, which I was more thank thankful for considering we would have a newborn on our hands.

I was sitting at my desk one day, and I stood up and instantly felt my belly drop. I looked down and I was standing in a puddle. I was two weeks early, and I started freaking out. I was hyperventilating and frantically searching around my desk for my phone when the man in the cubical next to me came up behind me.

"Clary, are you alright?"

"My water just broke, and I can't find my phone. I need to call my husband and get to the hospital." He told me he was going to get let our commander know, I thanked him and I was soon alone again. I was throwing all the paper around when I finally found my phone. I dialed Jace and on the third ring he finally picks up.

"Hey babe, what's up?"

"My water broke, can you come get me?" I could hear him drop whatever he was doing.

"Be there in 10." I hang up and make my way to the entrance of the building. I start pacing and breathing.

 **Jace POV:**

After I hang up the phone with Clary I immediately grabbed Carter and her hospital bag and made my way to the car. I pull up to the building to see Clary pacing outside. I pull up next to her and she gets in the car. I give her a quick kiss before speeding to the hospital. We get there and we are immediately put into a room. Six hours later finally Clary was ready to push.

"Come on babe, you can do it." I said as she squeezed my hand and screamed.

"Alright Clary, one more big push." Clary instantly took in a deep breath and began to push. Not even a minute later cries filled the hospital air and my baby girl was finally here. The nurses quickly cleaned her up and swaddled her up in a pink blanket and handed her to Clary. I looked down at Clary and I noticed that she is crying.

"What's wrong Clare?"

"Nothing, it's just, she has red hair." I looked down at her and she does indeed have red hair, I wipe the tears off of Clary's face and I kiss the top of her head before leaning down and kissing my baby girl.

"Welcome to the world Jenna Isabelle Herondale." I said as Clary handed her to me. A few moments later a nurse brought Carter in and he sat with Clary. She signed sister to Carter and he immediately perked up.

A couple days later Clary and Jenna were discharged and we made our way home. When Clary walked into the house Carter ran to play with his blocks, I made my way to the kitchen to start dinner while Clary went over to the couch to feed Jenna. After I was finished making dinner Clary had put Jenna down for the night. We sat at the table eating, and I couldn't help but look at Clary and Carter while listening to Jenna through the baby monitor and thinking that my life just got even more perfect.

 **Time Jump- Four Months Later**

 **Jace POV:**

We've been back in the states for about three months. I am currently back at the law firm I left almost three years ago, and I can't tell you how good it feels to be back. Although being a stay at home dad was an amazing experience, being back at work gave me another purpose. It was Monday morning and I was walking into the office like I normally do, when I left my office was made into a storage unit for cases, and it took me some time to get rid of it all, and my assistant was moved to work with another lawyer, and I was still currently trying to find another one. Despite having a ring on, and the pictures of Clary and my kids in my office the women who applied for the position weren't below trying to seduce me into hiring them. The whole process was really exhausting, and I was dreading this next interview but I needed an assistant. Trying to juggle that job plus my own was really difficult. Three o'clock rolled around and there was a knock on my door.

"Come in." I called and a woman appeared in the doorway, she looked totally different than the other women who applied so I was hopeful for this.

"Hello Mr. Herondale, my name is Maia Kyle."

"Welcome Ms. Kyle." I gestured to the seat and she sat down, I notice her looking at the pictures that were on my desk and I smiled.

"You are a beautiful family. How old are you kids?" She asked and I knew that this was going to be a good interview. I internally let out a breath, finally someone who was actually here for the job.

"My son is 2, and my daughter is almost 5 months." I take out her file and realize that I never actually looked at it. "I'm really sorry, I never got a chance to look at your file. I've been so busy doing both jobs that I guess it slipped my mind."

"That's okay, we can just talk instead of you having to read it."

"Sounds like a good plan. So, why do you want this job?"

"To be honest, my husband and I just moved here, and I need a job. I graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in business administration, but after I graduated I fell in love with a soldier. I soon realized that not only did his life belong to the army but so did mine. Since we have to move a lot I haven't been able to find a steady job. I worked for my dad all through out high school at his little supply store doing inventory and logging everything. I was better at the math than he was. I kept it afloat for awhile." She looked down at her hands, and I couldn't help but see how sad she looked. "We just had a baby, and although I would much rather stay home with him, we need the extra money."

"How old is he?"

"Almost six months. I wouldn't leave him if I didn't have too."

"I completely understand. Where is your husband stationed?"

"Fort Hamilton." My jaw dropped.

"That's where I live." I shifted her file to the side of my desk. I didn't need to read anything else or hear anything else either, I knew she was going to be getting the job.

"Really?"

"Yea, my wife is in the army. We actually just moved back from Italy a couple months ago. And my sister lives on that base as well." I couldn't help but finally feel like I found someone who I could not only trust to actually do that job she is given, but also someone who I have a small connection with.

"Wow. That's quite a coincidence." She smiled and she looked a little more relaxed.

"So, how would you like to start tomorrow?" I said and her jaw dropped.

"You mean I got the job?" She sounded a little flustered, like she was surprised that she got it.

"Of course. From what I skimmed from your file, you were an excellent student, and you said yourself you worked for your dad, and if I can be really blunt, every other woman who had applied for this position has tried to seduce me into hiring them, and as pretty as they were, I am in love with my wife. I understand how hard it is to be married to an enlisted soldier. And if you need any leeway because of your son, please don't hesitate to let me know. My wife actually got some maternity leave from the army, and if you ever need a babysitter, I'm sure she will be more than happy to watch your son. Life in the army is hard, as you know, and it's especially hard when they deploy. I'm not going to make that harder on you. This job is demanding, especially when we have a huge case, but no matter what you need, never be scared to ask for it."

"I don't know what to say Mr. Herondale."

"Please, call me Jace."

"I just I'm so shocked. I applied on a whim because I was so desperate." She was started to ramble and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Maia, please take a few deep breaths." She did as I asked and when she finally calmed down I started talking again. "Where and when do you drop your son off when you come to work?"

"Well, I hadn't actually thought that far in advance, I guess I could drop him off at a day care." I saw her internally battling with that idea and I knew how she felt, I wouldn't be able to leave Carter or Jenna with a stranger for a whole day.

"Well, my wife got a couple months off, so she'll be home with our kids, and I'll talk to her tonight and ask if she will watch your son until you find an alternate plan. How does that sound?"

"That sounds to good to be true Jace."

"We're practically related Maia, don't mention it. Our spouses are 'brothers in arms' so that makes us 'spouses in arms' or at least I'd like to think so. Plus, he won't leave base, and that's the safest place for him in my opinion. I'll give you a call tonight and let you know."

"When should I be here tomorrow?"

"8 am." I could see the smile on her face grow wider and wider and I stood up and she followed my lead. "Welcome to the company Maia." We shook hands and she left, and I saw her do a little happy dance as she walked to the elevator. When I looked at the time I realized that we had talked for almost an hour and a half. I made my way over to Alec's office and knocked.

"Hey man, what's up?" He asked before he looked up from his paper work.

"Well, I finally found an assistant who isn't trying to sleep with me, so that's always good."

"Finally, I thought you'd never find one. After the last one, I thought you were just going to stop."

"Trust me, I was about too. But this one actually wants the job. Funny story, she actually lives on Fort Hamilton."

"No way."

"I know. Her and her husband were just stationed there, and they just had a kid and they need the extra money."

"That's crazy." He says and I nod. "Well, I'm glad you finally found a good one. Sucks that Camille got moved, but after you left I didn't want to fire her, and turns out she is actually dating her new boss. Don't tell anyone, they want to keep it a secret."

"Well I'm glad everything worked out for her. She was a great assistant, but if she is happy I wasn't going to disrupt that. Plus I think that this one will be a good fit." There is a silence for a while. "Well, I'm going to head home, I need to talk to Clary and honestly I just want to see my kids." I couldn't help but smile and Alec laughs.

"Never thought I'd see the day Jace Herondale was whipped by a 5 month old."

"Wait until you have your own. That little girl could honestly make me do anything." We both laugh. "I'll see you tomorrow man."

"See ya." I grab my things from my office and head home. Once I walk in the door Carter is immediately wrapped around my leg. I picked him up and made my way into the kitchen. Jenna was sitting in her little chair and Clary was tickling her belly, Jenna was laughing away and so was Clary, I couldn't keep the smile off of my face while looking at my girls. I made my way over and gave them both a kiss, which Carter also did.

"Hey babe. How was your day?"

"Eventful. Carter thought it would be funny to dump all of his blocks all around the house. Instead of 52 pick up, I was running around the house picking up blocks."

"Why didn't Carter do it?"

"Little booger planned it right before his nap time, and you know how cranky he gets if he misses his nap."

"Smart guy." I couldn't help but laugh as I reached down and picked up Jenna. "So I finally hire an assistant today."

"What's the bimbo look like?" I could hear the venom in her voice, but I couldn't blame her, I told her about each interview, and it took everything in her not to track those women down.

"Actually, she isn't a bimbo at all. Her name is Maia, and her and her husband just moved to Fort Hamilton."

"Wow. That's pretty crazy."

"I know. We met for an hour an a half today. It was actually really nice to talk to someone who actually wanted the job. I learned a lot about her, and I think she'll fit right in. But I wanted to talk to you about her."

"What's up?" She handed me the bottle and I started to feed Jenna.

"She just had a son. He's almost 6 months old, and they just moved here and she has no one here to watch him, and I know you still have a couple months off. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind watching him for her until she can find a place that could watch him."

"Are you kidding me?" She said and my face instantly fell. "Of course she can bring him over. No six month old should have to be sent to a day care, just have her give me his schedule and I'll take it from there. I'm sure him and Jenna could share the crib for naptime and I have plenty of food. Unless she has him on a special diet. Just have her give me like anything special she wants me to do for him."

"You're honestly the best babe." I got up kissed her quickly on the lips and I situated Jenna on my shoulder so I could burp her. "I'm gonna go give her a call and let her know." I make my way out to the living room and pull out my phone. I dial her number and let it ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey Maia, it's Jace."

"Oh, help Jace. What's up?"

"I just talked to my wife and she agreed to watch your son for you. She just wanted me to tell you that if you have any special requests for him to let her know."

"Thank you so much Jace. It really means a lot to me. I'll have him at your house by 7:30, so I make it to the office by 8."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow Maia." We say goodbye and I hang up to notice that Jenna is sound asleep on my shoulder. I sit there for a moment just take in the moment of my daughter sleeping on me.

 **Clary POV:**

Jace wakes up at 6:30 every morning to get ready for work, and normally I wouldn't get up with him but Jenna decided to start crying, so I got up to rock her to sleep and just decided to stay awake. I picked her up and after about a half an hour of her not going back to sleep I took her downstairs to talk to Jace before work. I got to the kitchen and he's leaning on the counter top with a steaming hot cup of coffee in his hand.

"Mind getting me a cup?" I say and Jace turns around a gives me a quick kiss on the lips.

"Of course. What are you doing up?"

"Jenna wouldn't go back to sleep no matter how much I rocked her, so I just decided that I'd come see you before you were off to work." I took a sip of my coffee. "Plus, you said Maia would be at 7:30 so I wanted to be awake when she got here." We sat at the table and talked for a little, and when 7:15 rolled around Jace was getting ready to leave. We walked to the front door and he handed Jenna back to me.

"I might be home a little later tonight, I have to review a case that Alec is thinking about taking and it seems like a pretty big one. He wants me to go over every inch of it with him."

"Will Maia be with you the whole time?"

"No, I'm not going to make her stay later than she has to on her first day. It'll probably send her home at 5."

"Alright, well I'll see you later tonight. I love you."

"I love you too." We kissed and than he was gone. I sat down with Jenna on the couch and before I knew it the doorbell rang. I got up and opened it and there stood who I'm assuming was Maia and her husband.

"Hi, you must be Maia, and the husband. I'm sorry, Jace didn't tell me your name."

"My name is Jordan ma'am." Totally a soldier.

"Well, welcome. Come on in." I took a step back and let them in the house. "This is my daughter Jenna, and my son is still sleeping."

"This is Bat."

"Bat?" I said, not meaning to sound shocked but it was an odd name.

"Short for Bartholomew. It's a family name, but Bat suits him more." I nod and she sets him down. "I can't thank you enough for watching him…." I just realized that I never told her my name.

"Clary."

"I don't know what I would have done if Jace hadn't offered."

"Well, he has a big heart, and I guess it helped even more knowing that you were in the same situation as him. Being married to someone in the army is tough, but having people around who understand your situation always helps."

"What do you do in the army exactly?"

"I'm an intelligence analyst. But I've been around the army my whole life. My father is General Morgenstern." As soon as I mentioned my dad Jordan immediately tensed. "Oh please don't be intimated."

"I just didn't expect you to say that. I never thought I'd meet someone who is related to someone who is so high ranked in the military."

"Well, if you stick around here for awhile, you'll meet him." I smile and he sort of relaxes. "What is your rank?"

"Lieutenant ma'am."

"Nice." We stand there and talk for a little while longer until Maia looks at her phone.

"Shit. I'm gonna be late." She looks a little frantic. "It's my first day and I'm gonna be late."

"Don't worry, I'll call Jace and tell him it was my fault. We were talking, and he can't blame you for getting to know the person you're leaving your child with."

"Thank you so much for doing this Clary. It means a lot."

"Of course. I'll see you later." We say out goodbyes and by the time I get Jenna and Bat situated in the playpen Carter is awake. While I'm making breakfast I decide to call Jace.

"Hey babe."

"Hey, listen Maia is going to be late."

"I figured. It's already 8:15 and she isn't here."

"Well, her and her husband showed up and we started talking. You can't blame them for wanting to know who they are leaving their baby with."

"I understand. It's okay, I'll move her start time back cause I know you'll be doing that every morning while she drops him off."

"You're the best babe." Carter runs up to my legs. "Alright, Carter is getting antsy, I'll see you later. I love you."

"Love you too Clare." I hang up and start to play with Carter. The whole day seems to speed by, and when I look at the clock I realize that it's already almost 4 o'clock. Looking down at Bat and Jenna, and looking over at Carter playing with his trains, I realize that I could totally handle another kid. I know it's really soon but I love kids, and I love having Jace's kids. As Bat falls asleep in the playpen and Jenna falls asleep in my arms I've decided that after Jace gets home we'll talk about having another kid.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty Three**

 **Clary POV:**

When six o'clock rolled around and I still had Bat I was getting a little worried. Jace told me that he was going to let Maia go at 5, but she didn't show. Not that I minded watching Bat, he was a very happy baby, and the dynamic between the kids was great, but I was still worried. I knew Jace wasn't going to be home for dinner, so I started it and got Jenna and Bat situated in the high chairs and got them their food first, and than I got Carter ready for his dinner. About 15 minutes into dinner the doorbell rang. I got up and opened the door and there stood a disheveled looking Maia.

"Are you alright?" I asked and motioned for her to come in.

"Yea, work was just a lot to take in. Jace wasn't kidding when he said that when there was a big case it gets hectic. I'm sorry I'm so late, but I showed up late and I wanted to make it up to Jace. I felt horrible."

"That's okay. I was just feeding them dinner. Would you like to join us?" She smiled and nodded. I lead her to the kitchen, and Bat immediately perked up. She walked over to him and placed several kisses on his face.

"God, I missed him so much." She took the seat next to him and I fixed her a plate of spaghetti. "I hate leaving him."

"I know what you mean. When Carter was little I deployed and it was the hardest thing I've ever done."

"I couldn't even imagine that. I don't know how Jordan is going to do it when he deploys. Him and Bat are like two peas in a pod. It's really cute."

"It'll be tough, but it does help you get through deployment. It gives you even more of a reason to get home safely." She smiled and we sat there for the next hour talking and getting to know each other. I didn't even realize what time it was until the front door was opening and Jace walked in. I looked at the clock and it was almost 8 o'clock.

"I should really get home. Jordan is doing some late night patrols so he'll be gone until midnight but I should get Bat to sleep. Thank you so much for watching him Clary. I'll see you tomorrow morning at 7:30?"

"Absolutely." She picked up Bat and got his things ready. I grabbed Jenna and made my way out to the living room.

"Maia, I was not expecting to see you here." Jace said as I handed Jenna off to him and she giggled as Jace kissed her chubby little cheeks.

"Clary offered me some dinner and we just lost track of time talking." Jace smiled at me as he bounced Jenna. "I'll see you at 8 am tomorrow, and I promise I won't be late this time."

"Be in between 8 and 8:30 and I'll be satisfied. And I'm sorry you were kept past 5 today. I had a lot more work for you thank I anticipated."

"That's okay. I wanted to stay, I felt horrible for being late." She looked back at me. "Thank you again for watching Bat and letting me stay for dinner. I really appreciate it."

"No problem Maia. I'll see you tomorrow." She waved goodbye and Jace closed the door. Jace went and sat down on the couch with Jenna resting on his shoulder, she was almost knocked out, while I grabbed Carter and sat him on my lap. We sat there in silence for a while before I broke it.

"Jace. I want another kid."

"Really?"

"Yea. I mean, after watching Bat today, I can manage three kids, and I just really love children, and I love having your children. I just really want another one."

"Okay babe. We can try for another one."

"Are you sure?"

"Clary, I love having your children, and I love you when you're pregnant, it's like my favorite sight. I would be honored and thrilled to have another child with you." I couldn't help but smile at him. Knowing that he was willing to have more kids was super exciting, and I couldn't wait to start trying. Besides holding our child for the first time, making the baby was definitely one of my favorite parts. Once Jenna was asleep Jace went to put her down while I picked up Carter and got him ready for bed. After about 15 minutes I was finally ready to get bed. I crawled into bed and curled into Jace's side. Having another kid meant that I was going to be away from the army for a longer period of time, and as much as I loved my job, having a family with Jace was my priority, and the army was just going to have to wait until I was done popping out kids.

I woke up the next morning to an empty bed. I looked at the clock and it was only 7 am. I groaned but got up anyway. I went downstairs and saw Jace drinking his coffee and leaning on the counter. I made my way over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed his shoulder blade. He turned around a placed a sweet kiss on my lips. We talked until it was time for him to leave at 7:15, he kissed me goodbye and as soon as I shut the door Jenna started to cry. It was like that kid knew when Jace left the house. She was going to have him wrapped around her little finger, because she is such a daddy's girl it was ridiculous. I went up stairs and got Jenna all ready for the day when the doorbell ran. I got downstairs and opened it and Maia stood there. She kept it brief today, she handed Bat over to be we talked for a couple minutes until she left. Bat was still sleeping, so I took him out of his carrier and put him in the playpen. I took Jenna and fed her when there was a knock on the door. When I opened it Izzy was standing on the other side. I told her to be quiet and she walked in and took a seat on the couch.

"Whose kid is that?"

"Jace's new assistants. She and her husband just got stationed here, and she didn't know what to do with him while she went to work and Jace thought it would be a good idea for me to watch him for her until she figures out what to do."

"That's so weird, but at least he has a decent assistant this time around."

"I know. I was getting worried for a little when he would tell me the stories of the interviews. Seems like bimbos only applied to try and sleep with him, but I really like Maia, she's a sweetheart. And watching Bat was really eye opening."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean Jace and I are going to try and have another kid."

"Really?" She sounded really shocked. "But Jenna isn't even a year old yet."

"I know, but I can handle three kids, and I love having kids with Jace, it's the most amazing thing in the world."

"I can't wait until I have a kid."

"You'll get there Iz." I smiled at her and she smiled back. "What's the reason for your visit today thought Iz?"

"Oh. I wanted you to be the first to know. Simon asked me to marry him last night and I said yes!" She held up her left hand and I couldn't help but scream. I immediately regretted my decision when I looked over at Bat and she was sleeping like a rock. I let out a relieved breath.

"Thank god Carter is deaf. I would have felt horrible if I woke him up. But Izzy that's so amazing. I'm so happy for you." I gave her the best hug I could with Jenna in my arms, and Jenna giggled and Izzy reached over and I placed her in her arms. "Welcome to the army life."

"I know. I'm a little terrified but I love him and I want to spend the rest of my life with him."

"Love is terrifying in general. Whether it's to a soldier or a lawyer." We laughed and I looked at her. "Talk to Jace, he'll be better at reassuring you than me, since I am the solider. But trust me Iz, you're going to be incredibly happy. I can already tell." She stayed for a couple hours and played with Carter and helped with Bat. By the time their afternoon naps came around Izzy helped me put them down and than she left. When I finally had time to myself, I sat on the couch and enjoyed the peace and quiet. I would be lying if I said I wasn't exhausted, but it was all worth it, and I should get used to it if I am going to be bringing another child into this world. My time as a well rested woman was going to be few and far between once Jace and I welcome another addition, but even with thoughts of all the sleep I was going to lose in the future, I couldn't help but be excited and ready to have another kid.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty Four**

 **Time Jump-Week of Izzy's Wedding-Four Months Later**

 **Clary POV:**

It had been a long four months to say the least, but Jace and I finally got lucky, and I am now almost 5 months pregnant. Izzy was thrilled but soon realized that I was going to be pregnant for her wedding and had to change her whole concept for bridesmaid's dresses. Four months wasn't long enough for Izzy to plan her dream wedding but Simon was being deployed at the end of November and she wanted to be married before he left.

It was a couple days before her wedding and she came to my house at 3 in the morning freaking out. Jace and I were sleeping when we heard a pounding on our door. That in turn woke Jenna up and she was screaming her lips off. I took Jenna and Jace went downstairs, when I made my way downstairs Izzy was pacing and Jace's head was in his hands, clearly still waking up.

"And what happens if he dies? Oh my god I don't think I could handle that. What the hell am I doing? Am I making a mistake? What the hell." She was rambling on and on.

"Izzy, you need to take a few deep breaths for me." She nodded and took a few calming deep breaths. I made my way over to the couch and curled up into Jace's side as Jenna rested on Jace's torso and went back to sleep. Once Izzy was calm enough I started talking again. "So, what exactly are you doing here at 3 am?"

"I think I'm getting cold feet."

"Come on Iz, you love Simon. I know you do." I tried to reason with her but she kept pacing.

"Yea, I've never seen you with any other guy the way you are with Simon, I mean you two live together, and you're getting married in two days Iz." Jace said.

"Yea, and he'll be deploying in a month, and he might not make it back."

"Isabelle," Jace started and I knew he was serious. "It's incredibly hard to watch the one you love deploy, trust me, I've been through three with Clary. They don't ever get easier. But you can make it through it. I know you can. You are strong, and you've never relied on someone before, so this is all new to you, but trust me Iz, running away will only make you more miserable."

"But.." She started and Jace cut her off.

"But nothing Isabelle, if you run away Simon will still go to war, and he could still not come back, or you could run and he will still go but he could come back and you'll be completely miserable. Or you can marry the guy that you fell in love with, he can go to war and come back and you can start your life together." Jace said and Izzy just starred at him. "Now, if I were you I would personally choose the third option. Believe me Iz, I was scared shitless before marrying Clary, especially knowing what she could be faced with while she was deployed, but look at what I have. I have two amazing kids, and one on the way, and I'm more in love with Clary than I was yesterday. Trust me Iz, it'll be okay."

"I'm so scared Jace." She sat on the chair opposite of us.

"I know you are, but don't you want a family, don't you want Simon to be the father of your kids?"

"Of course I do, I just don't know what I'd do if I had to explain to their kids that their father isn't coming home if he dies over there."

"That's the risk of the army Iz." I said. "We all joined because we wanted to serve our country, and we wanted to protect those we love. Trust me Iz, we hate leaving, when I was deployed after Carter was born, I cried all the way to Iraq. It sucks, but we have a responsibility to protect and serve, and when we're called, we go. It's the life of the army, it's the life your spouse chooses to marry into because they would rather deal with the army than not be able to wake up next to you when you finally get home from deployment." I looked at Jace and I couldn't help but smile. "Simon joined the army because he wanted to dedicate his life to protecting the ones he loves, which includes you Izzy. When he deploys, he has even more to fight for, he has a reason to get home safely. That man worships the ground you walk on; I can see it in his eyes. He would fight his way out of war to come home and kiss you after a long deployment. That was half the reason I was able to survive being kidnapped, I had Jace to come home too. It made me want to fight 10 times harder because I wanted to be able to be held by him again." I could see her starting to relax, but she still looked so scared.

"Jace, I just need to know one thing."

"What is it Iz?"

"Is it worth it?" I saw Jace look at me, look down at Jenna and than look back at Izzy.

"Absolutely. If I never married Clary, I wouldn't be in love, I wouldn't be this happy, and I wouldn't here in this moment with my daughter sleeping on my chest, my son up in his room, and my wife carrying my third child. I wouldn't change a thing Izzy, and it's scary as all hell, but it's worth it. I mean, Iz, have you ever seen me this happy?"

"No."

"Exactly, I was just going day to day without that one thing I knew I needed but never though I'd find, and when I officially met Clary, I knew she was going to be it, and look at me now, I'm a husband, a father, a successful lawyer, and I'm incredibly happy. And it's because, army or not, I married the love of my life. I want that for you Izzy. I want you to be able to experience the love that having a family can give you, and I know you won't get that with anyone else. Simon is it for you, and you'd be crazy to let that go." I couldn't help but smile at the words Jace was saying, he was saying the most incredible things and it just made me love him even more.

"I've never had to depend on anyone before." Izzy started. "And when I met Simon I slowly started seeing myself becoming dependent on him, and not in a bad way but just in simple ways, like when we was away I missed his presence, or when he was sad I noticed that I was sad as well. It's like when he isn't there it's hard for me to breath and when he walks through the door at night, I automatically feel safer, and calmer. I'm scared to lose that. I'm scared to lose him."

"I know you are Iz, but do you want to miss out on the life you could have with him because you're scared of what may or may not happen?" I said and I made my way over to her and took her hands in mine. "You get to be married to Simon for a whole month before he deploys, and you can make that month count, you can have all the hot and steamy newlywed sex you want." I hear Jace gag in the background, and Izzy and I just laugh. "You can start calling yourself Mrs. Lewis because you love the sound of it, and you can try and get pregnant and start that family you want. There are so many things that can happen in a month Izzy, and trust me you are going to love that month you're married before he deploys. The first month Jace and I were married, we probably had the most fun we've ever had." I look Izzy straight in the eyes. "Do you love Simon?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to spend the rest of your life married to him?"

"Yes."

"So why the hell did you wake Jace and I up at 3 am when you know deep down that you know you want to be married? I mean, come on Iz, I'm almost 5 months pregnant." I said in a very light and semi sarcastic tone and Izzy laughs. I stand up and I pull her with me and I give her the biggest hug.

"Thank you both for this. I needed it. I just had a horrible dream that he died, and I just couldn't take it. But I needed this, it really helped." Iz said and suddenly there was another knock on the door. I looked at Jace who shifted Jenna on his shoulder and got up and answered it to find a frantic looking Simon at the door.

"Have you seen Izzy?" He barely got out between trying to catch his breath. Jace looked over in our direction and Simon's eyes followed. "Oh my god Iz, what the hell? I woke up and you were gone."

"I'm so sorry Simon, I just I had a horrible dream that you died while you were deployed and I kinda lost it."

"Oh babe, you should have just woken me up. I would have helped."

"I know, but I really needed to talk to someone who is in my position, someone who married into this life. And who better than my brother? I'm so sorry I worried you. I should have left you a note or something."

"It's okay, I'm just glad you're okay. I ran all over base looking for you."

"You're so sweet." Jace had made his way over to me at this point and Simon and Izzy were lost in their own little bubble, which I didn't mind until they started making out.

"Alright, please, I don't want to see my sister making out with you. It's just gross." Jace said and I couldn't help but laugh. Jenna started to stir and Jace cradled her in her arms. "Aw, looks like my baby is up now." He said and looked at Jenna. "Hi baby girl, how did you sleep?" He cooed at her and she just giggled. I leaned into Jace's side and tickled Jenna's belly, which caused her to giggle even more.

"Well, I think I need to go home. I'm exhausted and I still have some late minute details for the wedding. Thank you guys, really. I needed this today. I love you guys." She came over and gave us both a hug.

"We love you too Iz, and please next time you need us, wait until a decent hour. The next time you're pounding on our door at 3 am, I'm calling the MP's." Simon and Izzy both laughed and said their goodbyes. I took a seat on the couch and Jace followed. "Well, I'm gonna call Alec and tell him I'll be in late. I need a nap. That was exhausting."

"I know, but I'm glad she feels better. Sometimes it just helps to talk out your fears and work through them."

"When did you get so smart?"

"I am a genius babe. Baby brain doesn't apply to me." I smiled and he smiled back at me. "So, you've suffered through three deployments huh?" I teased and he just laughed.

"Believe it or not, your first one really got to me. Which is why I was so excited to see you in the airport that day. I mean, I don't hug people but I needed to hug you to make sure I wasn't hallucinating."

"I must admit, it was really weird not seeing you every Thursday. I got so used to it, that when I left for Iraq, I felt like I was missing something. Of course, I didn't really know what I was missing, but I was missing you. I know I was."

"I love you Clary." He leaned down and kissed me.

"I love you too Jace." I whispered against his lips as we sat there and continued to kiss. Completely and utterly lost in each other's embrace, we stayed like that until a sneeze from Jenna brought us back to reality. I couldn't help but blush realizing that our daughter just witnessed a make out session between her parents. "Well, that'll be a fun embarrassing story to tell her when she's older."

"Yea, she'll love that she was in the stuck in the middle of her parents making out." Jace said and we just laughed and sat on the couch slowly drifting off hoping to get at least an hour more of sleep.

 **Time Jump-Actual Wedding**

 **Clary POV:**

Sure enough, two days later we were all gathered to celebrate the union between Isabelle Lightwood and Simon Lewis. The ceremony was short and sweet, which I wasn't expecting from Izzy, but the ceremony space was completely her. It was over the top but elegant. After the ceremony we were all gathered for the reception. I was exhausted so I wasn't doing much, but sitting down and holding Jenna. Izzy insisted that she be the flower girl, and I was skeptical, but Carter pulled her down the aisle in a wagon and it was so cute. I was sitting down bouncing Jenna on my knee when Jace came over and extended his hand.

"Can I have the honor of dancing with my beautiful wife and daughter?" I couldn't help but smile and giggle.

"Of course." I said as I stood up, I looked back at Carter who was digging into his cake. "Hey Alec, can you watch Carter for me while we dance?" Alec nods and Jace pulls me out onto the dance floor.

"How are you feeling?" Jace asks as he takes Jenna and places her securely in his arms while I put both of mine around his neck.

"I'm okay, a little tired, but nothing I can't handle." Jenna was bouncing around and giggling in Jace's arms and I couldn't help but smile at my little girl. Jace leaned down and planted a kiss on her chubby cheek, which caused her to giggle more. "God she is so cute. I can't wait to meet our little one." I placed one hand on my belly.

"I know, we make cute kids. And I'm really excited that we're keeping this one a surprise. It makes it more suspenseful."

"I know. I'm not one for surprises but I think it'll make it extra special when I do give birth." I smiled up at him. "What do you think we're having?"

"I think it'll be another boy."

"Really?"

"Do you not?"

"I think it's a girl. I feel the same way I did when I was pregnant with Jenna. Being pregnant with Carter felt different."

"How about we make a little bet?" He smirked and I couldn't help but laugh.

"What is it with you and making bets. I have heard horror stories from Iz about the kind of bets you were involved with in high school."

"Trust me, this one is bad. If it's a girl, you get to name her, and if it's a boy I get to name him. Sound fair?"

"You're on babe." I leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

After a couple more hours at the reception Jenna was asleep and so was Carter so Jace and I decided to head home. We said our goodbyes and congratulations to Izzy and Simon and headed home. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until my head hit the pillow at 8 pm and 5 minutes later I was quickly falling asleep. As I felt myself drifting I could feel my baby kick and I could hear Jace talking to Jenna through the baby monitor and everything was perfect.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty Five**

 **Time Jump-One Month Later**

 **Clary POV:**

Today was the day that Simon was deploying and Izzy was a complete mess. But she wasn't the only one. Turns out Jordan was also deploying, and Maia wasn't doing too well either. I felt incredibly bad for both of them because I had never experienced the other end of deployment. Sure, I would see Jace before I would board the plane, but I never sat down with someone who was facing such a scary situation. Jace and I were standing back while Izzy said goodbye to Simon and while Maia and Bat said goodbye to Jordan. Being pregnant didn't help because it just made me that much more emotional. I buried my head into Jace's chest and let out a couple tears while he held Jenna and I held Carter's hand. This was tough, and I have no idea how they are doing it. I looked up at Jace and he just smiled down at me.

"I have no idea how you did it. This is really tough." I said and he let out a dry laugh.

"It was beyond tough. Watching you get on that plane and not knowing whether you'd come home. And if you want me to be completely honest, I shed a few tears that night." I couldn't help but bury my head into his chest even more. "But they can do it. I know how tough it is, but I know that Simon and Jordan will both fight their hardest to make it back." He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine, and after a couple minutes we noticed both Izzy and Maia making their way towards us. When they got to us I immediately reached for Bat and brought Maia into a hug and let her cry into my shoulder. Jace did the same thing to Izzy. She buried her head into his chest just like I had been doing and let it all out. After about 10 minutes Jace spoke up. "How about you guys stay with us tonight? I know how hard it is the first night, and sometimes being alone makes it even harder."

"I would really like that." Izzy sobbed into Jace and Maia just nodded. Once they calmed down we made our way back to our cars and headed back to our house. When we got back Maia and Izzy both walked like they were zombies. Completely drained from the day. I put Bat into the playpen with Jenna and let Carter play with his blocks. I took a seat next to Izzy and began rubbing her back.

"How long is he gone for?" I asked and she wiped her tears away.

"A year." She took a deep breath. "And I don't know what I'm going to do."

"You can do this Iz, and you always have Jace and I to lean on. You are welcome here no matter what." She gave me a huge hug and than settled back into the couch. I made my way into the kitchen to help Jace with dinner. I snaked my arms around his waist and got as close as I could while being 6 months pregnant.

"Hey baby." Jace said as he turned around and placed his hands on either side of my face. "How are they?"

"Izzy is so sad, and Maia is just kind of blank. She hasn't spoken since we got here." He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine again. "It'll be tough, but I think they can do it. It'll just take a little while for them to get used to having them gone." I nod in agreement and than we go back to fixing dinner.

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful. I got the living room all situated for both of them to sleep before I put the kids down. By the time it was midnight I was sitting in bed just thinking about how Maia and Izzy could be feeling. I knew that it was tough on the end of the soldier for leave his family but I never knew just how hard it was on the other end. It truly broke my heart to see Izzy and Maia look so defeated, but I completely understand the life that we all are in, and I couldn't help but pray that Simon and Jordan make it back.

 **Time Jump-Three Months Later**

 **Clary POV:**

I was currently sitting in a hospital bed preparing to welcome my baby into this world. I had gone into labor at about 5 this morning and it was close to noon and the doctor said that any minute I would probably be ready to push. The past three months have been interesting, Maia had taken a couple days off to regroup herself after Jordan left and Jace completely understood, and Izzy made her way to our doorstep a couple times at odd hours in the morning. They both seemed to be doing better, and I was really happy to see them both smiling again. Especially after Izzy found out she was pregnant a month after Simon left. She was freaking out, she didn't want to have to raise their baby alone which brought back so many of her worries but so far she was handling it really well. And motherhood was looking food on her. I was ripped out of my thoughts when the doctor came in.

"Alright Clary, are you ready to push?"

"I've been ready since I found out I was pregnant." I laughed and grabbed Jace's hand.

"Alright, on the count of three. One…..two….three." I pushed my hardest and let my screams echo through the whole room. It took about 45 minutes before there were cries from someone other than me in the room. The nurses quickly whisked our baby away to clean him or her off and I just couldn't wait to hold my baby and finally see what we had. After about 5 minutes the nurse turned around to reveal a bundle of blue. I looked at Jace and he just smirked but didn't say anything. Damn him for always being right. I look back up to Jace and I couldn't keep the tears in anymore. He leaned down, kissed my check and than whispered in my ear.

"Ti amo così tanto." He kissed my cheek again and I couldn't help but smile.

"Ti amo più che avrai mai sapere." I replied as I looked down at our son again. "What should we name him?"

"I was thinking Damion. Do you like it?"

"I do. Did you think of a middle name?" I asked as I stroked my baby boys face.

"I was thinking that we could name him after one of your brothers." I sucked in a sharp breath, not expecting him to say that. "It's up to you which one you want to us. I know it's kinda hard to pick between brothers, but unless we have another son, I think you just kinda have too." He laughed and I looked down at Damion. I thought back to Jonathan and Sebastian, and all the memories that I had with both of them. Choosing was going to be hard, but deep down in my heart I knew who I wanted to pick.

"I think I figured it out. Thinking back to all the memories of Jonathan and Sebastian it's really hard to pick between the two, but I know who my heart wants me to pick." I looked down at Damion than back at Jace. "I choose Jonathan. For more reasons than one."

"And what are the reasons?" He asked as he joined me on the bed and I leaned into his side.

"Well, growing up I was clearly always the youngest, always the girl, and always being teased for many reasons. Whether it be my red hair, or how tiny I was, or just being smart. I just I always had someone picking on me, and it was Jonathan who really encouraged me to be the bigger person, and that one day all those things people were making fun of me about would be exactly what someone was looking for in a woman. And of course I was young but he was right, I mean I have you don't I?" He smiled and kissed my cheek, and I couldn't help but smile back. "Which leads into my other reason. You. I have never considered myself to be pretty, or funny, or even out going. I always thought that I was so average despite my intelligence. I wanted nothing more than to blend into the crowed and just get by without being noticed. Especially with everything that happened when I was a teenager. It wasn't until I met you that I finally started to actually like who I was, or liked the things people made fun of me for. I mean, you're constantly complimenting my hair, or telling me how much you love how tiny I am compared to you, and you love my brain. You've accepted everything about me that I used to hate. Jonathan is not just the brother who always stood by me, and helped me through some tough times, but Jonathan is also my husband who loves everything about me, and wouldn't change a single thing about me." I looked back at Damion. "And I want our son to know that he is named after two important men who really made me see the good in myself."

"I think it's absolutely perfect babe. Damion Jonathan Herondale. Doesn't sound too bad." We both looked down at our son and just filled with so much joy.

Throughout the day people were stopping in. First it was Izzy and Maia and the kids. Carter was so thrilled to meet his brother and Jenna was to young to know what was going on. Izzy and Maia both agreed to watch the kids for the rest of the day, which Jace and I were both grateful for. My parents stopped in next, and when we told them his name my mom choked up and even though my dad would never admit it, he had some tears in his eyes. Next were Jace's parents, and Max. They didn't stay long, they had to leave for France tonight but wanted to stop by and see the baby. Alec, Magnus, Will and Tessa were the last. I hadn't seen them in awhile so it was great to catch up.

"So, how is everyone doing? I feel like I haven't seen you all in forever."

"It has been forever." Tessa said. "But Will and I have some exciting news." She held up her left hand and I screamed, causing Damion to wake up and start crying. Jace took him and started to bounce him up and down while Tessa and I celebrated.

"Oh my god. That is so exciting. I'm so happy for the both of you." I couldn't contain my excitement, they both deserved this. "When did it happen?"

"Last night. We were going to call you today, but Jace said you were in labor, so we wanted to wait until you had the kid."

"Wow. I'm so excited for the both of you." I gave her one last hug before I looked at Alec. "And are you two ever getting married?" I saw Alec pale and I couldn't help but laugh.

"We'll get there. We're just taking our time." Alec said and I saw Magnus grab his hand and he instantly relaxed.

"As much as Alexander hates to admit it, having his parents approval means a lot to him, and I don't think I'm quite there for them yet." I could see the hurt in both Magnus and Alec's eyes.

"I'm really sorry, but I can see how happy you two make each other and if your parents can't see how happy and in love you are Alec, they need to get a reality check." I said and Alec gave me a small smile. But before he could say anything Jace spoke up.

"I mean, having their approval is great and all Alec, but its your life, and if they can't support you than screw them. I haven't seen you this happy in awhile, and I would hate to see your future with Magnus dependent on how fast they can get both of their heads out of their asses. I told you before man, live for you, not them."

"Thanks guys. I know it shouldn't matter as much as it does but I guess that part of me always hoped that they would approve of my spouse, and as long as I have you and Iz around, and supportive I guess that's all the approval I need." Alec said and Magnus looked like he was about to burst at the seams. "Well, congratulations on the kid, we should get going. We'll visit soon." Both Alec, and Magnus got up and gave us both hugs before exiting and Will and Tessa weren't far behind them. Damion had finally fallen asleep and Jace rejoined me on the bed, looking at him with Damion completely melted my heart and I was so excited to be going on this journey again with Jace.

 **Time Jump-Six Months Later**

 **Clary POV:**

Everything with Damion was fantastic, he was such a happy baby and Jenna and Carter really loved him. I now had four children to look out for during the day, but thankfully Izzy had started to come and keep me company. She said she wanted to have some experience with kids before her daughter is welcomed into the world. Surprisingly she was a natural. She was upset that Simon wouldn't be there for their daughters birth, but knowing that he would be home in four months was getting her through. Maia was also getting through, she had really thrown herself into work so that she wasn't constantly missing Jordan, and Bat was thriving. All in all, everyone was doing really well and I couldn't be happier.

I had decided that I was going to ask my commander if I could take a temporary leave from deployment in order to raise my kids. It wouldn't be forever, but I didn't want the possibility of deployment looming over my head while raising my three children. Thankfully he gave me a year to stay at home with my family, and raise my kids, and I was very thankful for that. It was nice knowing that when my phone rang it wasn't me being called off to a third world country for months on end. I was still doing my job just from home.

It was a normal Tuesday and Izzy and I were at my house watching the kids and talking when my phone rang. When I made it over and looked at the ID it was Jace.

"Hey babe, what's up?" I asked and I could immediately tell something was wrong.

"Maia is on her way home. She got a call today, Jordan has been shot, but they couldn't give her any details. She kinda lost it in the office so I told her to go straight to you."

"Oh my god. Alright, thank you for the warning."

"I gotta go, huge case. Kiss the kids for me. Love you Clare."

"I love you too." I hung up and 10 minutes later there was s pounding on my door. When I opened it up there was a frantic and completely destroyed Maia. I pulled her into a hug where she cried for about 10 minutes. When she finally calmed down, I moved her to my couch. Jenna and Bat were in the playpen, Carter was playing with his blocks and Damion was currently upstairs sleeping. After another 15 minutes she finally calmed down enough to talk. "Are you okay Maia?"

"I don't know. I just I got the call and I totally freaked. I think I scared everyone in the office. Jace was the only one who knew what to do. He gave me a hug and than told me to take the day off. He told me I could come here, and I just I don't know what to do."

"What did they tell you in the phone call?"

"They told me that Jordan had been shot, and that he was being medevac'd to a army hospital in Germany and that he would call me when he was coherent enough to. But I just what if he died? I have no idea where he was shot, or how close her was to dying, or even what the hell happened. I could have lost him."

"But you didn't. He's probably in surgery right now, and the minute he wakes up he will call you. He isn't dead Maia, and you need to stop thinking that he could have died and focus on the fact that he didn't die."

"I just don't know what I would have done if he died. I mean, I still want to have more kids. I want to be able to kiss him again; I want to grow old with him. That's why you marry someone right? To get to the ripe old ager of 97 before you kick the bucket? I don't want to lose him at 26. I can't lose him. I just I think I'll feel better once I hear his voice you know. It'll make it more real."

"I totally understand. Jace felt the same way when I was kidnapped. Once he heard my voice he knew it was actually all right. Why don't you go up and sleep on our spare bedroom. You look exhausted." She nodded and got up and kissed Bat before heading upstairs. Once she was out of sight I looked back at Izzy and sighed. "Man, I really didn't understand it until I was on this side with both of you. This really must have sucked for Jace."

"It did. He was so lost. I mean, I understand it's you, and Simon and Jordan who are risking your lives for this country but in the process we're also risking our family, our loved ones, and sometimes even our happiness when you go over there. I know I didn't know what it felt like to be married until 9 months ago, but man do I feel like I'm missing a huge chunk of who I am since Simon left. And sure it's hard for you too but that's your job, it isn't mine. We come home to a empty house every single night, sleep in an empty bed, and sit down to eat at an empty table for dinner because we married someone who's job it is to strap a gun to their chest and run into the line of fire and hoping that their brothers have their back. I listen to the news, I try not to but every now and than I hear it and I am scared shitless. I honestly don't know how you do it Clary, but I can tell you from the view point of an army wife, your job freaking sucks."

"I never had anyone before Jace, so I didn't know what it felt like to be loved the way that he loved me. So I never really knew how it felt when you were separated from the only person who made you feel whole. Leaving him behind was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I know it doesn't seem like it because we chose this life, but it sucks on our end too. Every thing about military life sucks sometimes. I mean, I never want to leave my kids, or my husband, or my friends, but I do it because I took an oath to protect this country Iz. Simon did the same thing. He had no idea he would meet you, fall in love, and have a baby on the way. I guarantee he never thought that was a possibility before joining the army. It happens, and only really strong and independent, and good-hearted people can do what you, Maia and Jace did. It takes a lot for someone to marry into this life, and trust me, it'll all be worth it when Simon gets back and holds your little girl for the first time." Izzy was rubbing her belly and trying to fight back tears.

"I know, it just really sucks that I have to do all of this alone. I mean, I really appreciate everything you, Jace, Alec and Magnus have done for me, but I just want and need Simon. I wish he was going to be in the delivery room with me, I wish he was going to be there for the first night she's home you know? It just sucks he's missing out."

"I know it does, but trust me, that little girl will have some of the best parents in the world." She smiled at me, and the tears were gone. "Do you know who is going to be in the delivery room yet?"

"My mom has been bugging me about it. She wants to be in there, but honestly, I really want Alec in there with me. Growing up we were really close, and my parents always travelled a lot so Alec and I really relied on each other. We were joined at the hip. I feel like since Simon can't be there, he's the next best thing."

"What did Alec say to that?"

"He was shocked. But he said it meant a lot to him. He promised to be by my side the whole time."

"Good. Trust me, you need someone who is willing to witness you at your absolute worst, god knows poor Jace witnessed a whole new side of me during each birth." We both laughed and continued to talk for hours until it was time for dinner. I started cooking and when I was about to go up to get Maia she was already on her way down the stairs. She looked better, and when I went to ask how she was doing she told me that Jordan had called and that he was going to be home in about a week and she more than trilled.

We all ate dinner together, and by the time 7 rolled around Maia had taken Bat home and Izzy wanted to go home so that she could wake up early and talk to Simon. After the day we all had I just didn't want to put Damion down. So instead I rocked him to sleep in my bed and when he was finally asleep, I slowly started to drift off. The next thing I know I feel Damion leave my arms and I panic and immediately wake up to see Jace holding him.

"Long day babe?"

"Very." I rub my eyes and look up at Jace and Damion.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just after today I never really realized how hard it was for you when I was deployed and I want to thank you for being strong enough to stay with me. Between getting ambushed and kidnapped, you never once thought this life would be too much."

"I love you Clary, and I couldn't picture my life without you or our kids. It never even occurred to me to leave because I already knew that I wanted you." He leaned down and kissed me. "I'm gonna go put Damion down, I'll be in bed in a half hour."

"Alright, I might be asleep by then, but I love you so much Jace. Thank you for staying." I said as I felt my eyelids closing. I was asleep before I could hear his response, but soon a felt the bed dip and I rolled over and cuddled into the side of my husband who no matter what stuck by my side, and I couldn't be more thankful for him.

 _Translation:_

 _Ti amo cosi tanto - I love you so much_

 _Ti amo piu che mai sapere - I love you more than you'll ever know_


	26. Chapter 26

**So, I wanted to give a simple update before I head off for a couple weeks, where I won't be able to update. I know this is kinda short but I promise it isn't a filler chapter, but I thought it was needed. I just wanted to give you all something happy to read. I hope you like it, and I promise that once I'm back I will update as soon as I can! :)**

 **Chapter Twenty Six**

 **Time Jump-Three Months Later**

 **Clary POV:**

Today was the day Simon was coming home and I don't think I've ever seen Izzy so happy. Even after Kallie was born she didn't look this happy. I knew that having Simon home was really bringing Izzy back to her normal self. She had asked Jace and I to come with her because she didn't think she'd be able to do it on her own. We ad gotten then a half an hour early and Izzy was practically jumping out of her skin to see Simon. Kallie was sound asleep in her stroller along with Damion. Jenna and Carter were sitting down playing with some toys while Jace and I tried to calm Izzy down.

Finally when it was time for the soldiers to walk in Izzy couldn't contain her excitement anymore. It was really great to see her so happy, and I'm glad Simon made it back in one piece, I knew that was scaring Izzy, but knowing that she was about to be reunited with him made me happy. When the man in charge was finally done speaking he dismissed the soldiers and Izzy made a beeline for Simon. Jace and I watched her run and leap into Simon's arms, and you could see relief flush across Simons face. I soon realized that she had forgotten her child. I told Jace to watch the kids as I pushed the stroller over to Izzy and Simon. When they finally untangled themselves and Simon looked down and he was in complete awe of his daughter. Izzy reached down and picked up a semi awake Kallie.

"Simon, meet Kallie." Izzy picked her up and extended her to Simon who reached out his arms and Izzy placed the baby in them. "Kallie, meet daddy." Kallie let out a little yawn followed by a giggle. Simon looked up at Izzy and pulled her into a kiss.

"She is perfect Iz. Absolutely perfect." He looked back down at his daughter and I knew what he was thinking, he looked exactly like Jace the first moment he looked at Jenna. I made my way back to Jace so they could have their family time. When I got to Jace I couldn't help but wrap my arms around his neck and pull him into a kiss.

"What was that for?"

"Because I love you, and I want you to always remember that."

"I love you too Clary." He smiled at me and I looked down at Jenna and Damion who were both looking up at us and smiling. Today was a good day.

 **Izzy POV:**

After about 15 minutes Simon and I decided to head home. Clary and Jace had already gone so we just packed up Kallie and got in the car. Once we walked inside it felt like everything was right in the world again. Having Simon home really made everything whole again, and seeing him with Kallie really made my heart swell.

"I can't believe we have a daughter." Simon said and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Trust me, the first time I brought her home I cried." He turned to face me and laughed.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here for her birth."

"It's okay, I had Alec in there with me. And everyone was there after she was born. I even got in some practice with babies after Damion was born. As much as I wanted you there, I had a good support system."

"I'm glad. When you called to tell me I felt so bad that I was missing it, I was missing everything. I just wanted to come home and be with you."

"And you did. You came home, and that's all I wanted." I leaned over and gave him a kiss. "I love you Simon, and I'm so happy that you're home safely."

"I love you too Iz." He said and he looked down at Kallie. "And I love you baby girl." He kissed her head and I couldn't help but smile at the cuteness, and finally be happy that my family was back together.


	27. Chapter 27

**Authors Note:**

 **I know, I'm very late with updating this story, but I have been having a case of writers block and I didn't know where I wanted to take this story, but I like this chapter, and I hope you all do too. The places in this story that are italicized are when they are speaking in sign language! Hope you all enjoy! :)**

 **Chapter Twenty Seven**

 **Time Jump-Five Years Later**

 **Clary POV:**

These last five years have been absolutely amazing. I had gotten a job that kept me from deploying but I was still in the army. Carter was 7, Jenna was almost 6, and Damion would be 5 at the beginning of next month. Carter had started first grade at a deaf school, and he absolutely loved it. We had talked about a cochlear implant, but he liked being deaf. He told us that he loved the community that he was apart of, and who are Jace and I to force him into the hearing world. We all knew sign language, and if he was happy, we were happy.

Jenna was going to be in kindergarten, and she was super excited to be starting school. She would play teacher all the time at home, and poor Damion would be subject to her lessons, but he took it like a champ. He paid attention and he scribbled in the notebook she gave him. Jace had been named partner at his firm along side Alec and I couldn't have been more proud of him. These past five years have been amazing, and I was super excited to see where it went.

Carter had come home one day and asked if on Friday he could have a couple of his friends sleep over, and I said sure. They had never been on a military base and apparently they were really excited to see what it was all about. I had never seen Carter so happy, and I couldn't help but smile when I saw him signing to his friends with the biggest smile on his face.

When Friday rolled around Jace had taken the day off to help me. Damion had come down with the stomach bug a few days ago and he gave it to Jenna, so I had two very sick kids, and I was trying to get the house ready for Carter and his friends. When I saw that three o'clock rolled around I got into my car and went to Carter's school. When I pulled up, he was waiting with four of his friends. They all hoped in the car and we were off. When we got back to the house and they all looked amazed to be on a military base, but I couldn't blame them, it is rather cool. We got inside and Damion and Jenna were both asleep on the couch and Jace was cleaning up.

 _"Hey Carter, how was school?"_ Jace signed and I started putting his friends stuff away.

 _"Great. Dad these are my friends. Billy, Tommy, Josh, and Marcus."_ Carter signed and his friends waved.

 _"Welcome to our house. I hope you all don't mind, but you will be exposed to a lot of new things around here."_ Jace signed and I laughed.

 _"Tommy, and Marcus both have cochlear's but they like signing better. But they can hear you."_ Carter signed.

 _"Well, if you prefer signing that's how we'll communicate, but I should warn you, we don't really speak English here all that often, although with these two being sick, English might be the way to go."_ Jace signed and Billy, Tommy, Josh, and Marcus all looked confused.

 _"They speak Italian mostly."_ Carter explained. _"They are getting Jenna and Damion caught up. Jenna didn't understand what they were trying to do when they wanted to teach her, so she's behind."_

 _"Why do they speak Italian?"_ Tommy signed.

 _"My mom was born in Italy, like me. And my dad learned when he and my mom started dating. My moms whole family speaks Italian. It's kinda rare when they aren't speaking Italian."_ Carter explained.

 _"And they all can sign too?"_ Josh signed.

 _"Yea. When my parents found out I was deaf, they told my grandparents and my aunt and uncles and they all started learning so that I wouldn't feel left out."_

 _"That's so cool."_ Marcus signed. _"The only reason I got the cochlear is because my father refused to learn how to sign."_

 _"That's awful."_ I signed and he just shrugged. _"Alright boys, I set up the whole basement for you because the upstairs might be infested with germs thanks to Jenna and Damion and I would hate for you all the get sick. Dinner will be ready at 5:30, and don't break anything."_ I signed and they all nodded and ran downstairs. Jenna had woken up, and she looked really tired and uncomfortable. Since they were sick there was no reason to teach her how to speak Italian, I just wanted my baby to be comfortable.

"Mamma." I heard Jenna say.

"What is it baby?"

"I'm hot." She said and I grabbed the thermometer and stuck it in her mouth. When it beeped I took it out.

"102. What was it the last time you took her temp Jace?"

"She was at 103, so it's going down. We just have to wait for it to break baby." Jace said as he picked up Jenna. She immediately curled into his side. A minute later Damion woke up and began to whimper. I washed the thermometer and stuck it in his mouth. When it beeped I took it out and sighed.

"101. What was it when you checked?"

"102. They're going down but we just have to wait for the fevers to break." Jace said and I picked up Damion and he curled into my chest. Jenna was such a daddy's girl and Damion was such a momma's boy, it was great. We sat there for about 45 minutes watching some movie that Jenna wanted to watch, and when I looked down Damion was sound asleep, and I looked over at Jenna and she was asleep too. I laughed and picked Damion up gently and placed him back down on the couch.

"I'm going to start dinner. Do you think they'll eat anything?"

"Jenna ate a little snack at like 1:30, but I haven't been successful in getting her to eat other than that, and Damion refused. I would make soup just in case when they wake up, if they are hungry at least they have something." He said and I nodded. I kissed him on the cheek and made my way into the kitchen.

When 5:20 rolled around I was swamped with things that needed to be done and Jace was asleep with Jenna on the couch but I really needed him.

"Jace, svegliati. Ho bisogno di te in qui. È possibile dormire più tardi. I piatti non pulire se stessi." I yelled and I heard him groan. "Jace seriamente riattiva l'inferno."

"Sto sveglio." He says in a groggy voice.

"So che hai preso cura di loro per tutto il giorno ma non vi è molto che potete fare quando sono addormentato ho bisogno del vostro aiuto in qui, e sarei grato se mi potrebbe aiutare adesso." I said in an annoyed tone.

"Mi dispiace baby. Non intendevo per addormentarsi. Dimmi che cosa hai bisogno di me per fare e lo farò." He said as he tucked a stray hair behind my ear. And in that moment I just couldn't be annoyed anymore.

"Wow." I heard from behind us and we turned around to see Carter and all his friends.

 _"What?"_ I signed and Carter laughed.

 _"Tommy and Marcus heard you speaking Italian, and it might be the coolest thing they've ever heard."_ Carter signed and I laughed.

 _"Well, I'm glad you got to hear, we have hamburgers, cheese burgers and hotdogs, so whenever you're ready, eat."_ I signed and they all ran into the kitchen. Jace and I went out into the living room to get Jenna and Damion.

"Baby, wake up sweetie, it's dinner time." I said as I rubbed Damion's back.

"I don't want to eat mamma. I don't feel good." He said and I picked him up.

"I know you don't baby, but how about you drink some broth, and go back to sleep, and if you get hungry later, you can eat?" I said and he nodded. I looked over and Jace had Jenna in his arms and she was still waking up.

When we get into the kitchen the boys are already halfway done. I sit Damion down and Jace puts Jenna down and they both start sipping on their broth. It might have only been a couple sips, but it was better than nothing. We each picked up a kid and put them in bed, it was almost 7, and for sick kids, that's a perfectly good time for them to go to bed. Jace and I went back downstairs and with Carter and his friends in the basement we sat on the couch and cuddled up to watch bad TV. We had set up our old baby monitors in each of their rooms so that we could hear if they woke up.

We sat on the couch like that until it was almost 11 at night, and we both decided to get some sleep. When we got upstairs we got ready and than got in bed. It wasn't long until sleep devoured me, but it was over too soon. I woke up when I heard our door open. When I rubbed my eyes and looked I saw both Jenna and Damion standing there.

"What's wrong babies?" I said and they made their way into our room.

"I woke up really wet." Jenna said and Damion nodded along saying he did the same. When they made it over to the bed I went to the bathroom and got the extra thermometer out and checked each of their temps.

"Looks like both of your fevers broke. Are your beds all gross?" I asked and they nodded. "Alright, go back out and wake daddy up, I'll go get you new PJ's and you can sleep with us tonight." They went back into our room while I went and got them some PJ's. When I got back to my room I saw Jace stripping off their wet clothes for me. I walked over and gave Jenna her outfit, and Damion his. When they were changed Jace and I settled back into bed and we both grabbed a kid and got comfy. Naturally Jenna cuddled up with Jace and Damion cuddled up with me.

When morning came Jenna and Damion were completely taking over the bed. I looked over and noticed that Jace wasn't in the bed. I looked around and noticed that the bathroom door was slightly cracked and I could hear the water running. I got up, and went into Jenna and Damion's room and removed their sheets, and took their wet clothes and started a load of wash. I put new sheets on their beds, and grabbed them some clothes to change into. When I got back to my room Jace was out of the shower, dressed, and waking the kids up. I walked over and put their clothes down and started rubbing Damion's back.

"Hey baby, it's time to wake up." I cooed in his ear and he started to stir. He sat up and started to rub his eyes.

"Mamma?" He said and I smiled.

"Yea baby?"

"I feel better."

"I'm glad baby." I said as I planted a kiss on his forehead and noticed how much cooler he was. "How about you sweetie?" I looked at Jenna who was curled up in Jace's lap.

"I feel better too. But I'm hungry." She said and Jace and I laughed.

"I bet. You hardly ate yesterday. What would you two like for breakfast?"

"Pancakes!" They both said in unison.

"Alright, get changed, and daddy with start the pancakes while I wake up Carter and his friends." They nodded and I made my way down to the basement. I rubbed Carters back lightly until he started to stir.

 _"Good morning baby."_ I signed and he gave me a sleepy smile. _"Dad's making pancakes for the babies, would you like some or would you guys like something else for breakfast?"_

 _"Pancakes are fine. I'll wake them up and we'll be up."_ He signed and I kissed him and went back upstairs. Jenna was siting on the counter watching Jace make the pancakes while Damion was setting the table.

"Look at you being a good boy and helping." I said as I picked Damion up and kissed his cheek. Carter and his friends were upstairs 15 minutes later when the pancakes were done cooking. We all sat down at the table, and had a wonderful conversation.

After breakfast, Carter wanted to take his friends on a tour around the base. I had no problem with it. He was going to go over and see Izzy, and Simon, and Kallie. Jace and I cleaned up while Jenna and Damion went and played in the living room. I looked back at Jace, and peaked into the living room to see Jenna and Damion, and I knew that my life was absolutely perfect. Nothing could go wrong. I was pulled out of my head when the phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Clary?" I heard on the other end and I could tell it was my mom but something was off.

"Mom? Are you okay?"

"Clary, it's your father."

"What happened?"

"He had a stroke. You need to come to Fort Drum." She said and I immediately dropped the phone and Jace's head snapped towards me.

"Clary? What's wrong?"

"My dad. He had a stroke." I said and his arms were immediately around me.

"Let's pack for the kids, and when Carter's friends leave we'll head right to Fort Drum." I simply nodded not trusting my voice. I feel like I'm always losing someone. I lost my brothers, and now my dad isn't doing well. It's like the world doesn't want the men in my life to live and I could feel the anxiety in my chest, and soon everything went black.

 _Translations:_

 _Jace, svegliati. Ho bisogno di te in qui. È possibile dormire più tardi. I piatti non pulire se stessi. Jace seriamente riattiva l'inferno. - Jace, wake up. I need you in here. You can sleep later. The dishes won't clean themselves. Seriously Jace, wake the hell up._

 _Sto sveglio - I'm awake_

 _So che hai preso cura di loro per tutto il giorno ma non vi è molto che potete fare quando sono addormentato ho bisogno del vostro aiuto in qui, e sarei grato se mi potrebbe aiutare adesso - I know you've been taking care of them all day but there isn't much you can do while they are asleep I need your help in here and I'd really appreciate if you could help me right now._

 _Mi dispiace baby. Non intendevo per addormentarsi. Dimmi che cosa hai bisogno di me per fare e lo farò - I'm sorry baby. I didn't mean to fall asleep. Tell me what you need me to do, and I'll do it._


	28. Chapter 28

**Authors Note:**

 **This story is only going to be having a couple more chapters! I loved writing this story, but I feel like it is coming to its end and I hope you've all enjoyed it as much as I have! :)**

 **Chapter Twenty Eight**

 **Jace POV:**

"Clary?" I said, and she looked into my eyes and there was nothing but emptiness. "Clary, come on. Snap out of it." I said and she tilted her head at walked away. I followed her, and she went upstairs and locked herself in our room. I started banging on the door. "Clary! Open this door right now!" My yelling caused Jenna and Damion to come out of their rooms.

"Daddy? What's wrong?" Jenna asked.

"Nothing baby. Go back into your room." I said and she didn't move. "Clarissa, open this door." I yelled again.

"Why are you yelling at mommy?" Damion asked.

"Because she isn't herself right now and I need her to come back."

"Are you going to get a divorce?" Jenna asked and I turned around and looked at her.

"Why would you say that?"

"My friend Mandy told me her parents fought a lot before they got a divorce. Is that what's happening to you and mommy?" I walked over and kneeled down in front of her and Damion.

"You mother and I aren't fighting guys."

"But you're yelling." I sighed.

"When you're older we'll explain it in more detail, but your mom has these moments when she's really overwhelmed she blacks out. And she is in a type of dreamland, and if I don't get through to her, she doesn't come out of it for a long time. I'm just trying to get your mommy back." I said and they both nodded.

"Can we help?" Damion asked and I looked at them and thought that it was worth a shot. I nodded and when I went back to my door I twisted the knob and it opened. I walked in and saw Clary on the floor in the fetal position rocking back and forth. The room was a mess. She had thrown things all over the place, and the sheets were practically ripped off the bed. I motioned for Damion and Jenna to follow me, and when they saw Clary they both started backing away.

"Don't be scared, she's still you mom." I said and they started walking forward. Jenna kneeled down and started rubbing Clary's back, and Damion sat down and held her hand. I walked over and sat behind her and started whispering things into her ear. After about 10 minutes I could feel her coming back. She stopped rocking and leaned back into me, and she looked around the room, and than looked at Jenna and Damion.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered and I planted a kiss on her shoulder.

"Are you feeling better mommy?" Jenna asked and I heard Clary smile.

"I am, thank you for helping baby." She leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

"Was it a bad dream?" Damion asked and I can only imagine Clary looked at him with confusion because he went on to explain. "Daddy said you were in dreamland, and that it took awhile for you to get back sometimes, so was it a bad dream?"

"It was. A very bad dream, but thanks to you three, I'm much better now." She said as Damion and Jenna both gave her a hug.

"Alright kids, why don't you two go downstairs and watch TV, I need to speak to mommy." They nodded and stood up.

"We love you mommy." Jenna said and Clary and I both smiled.

"I love you too babies." They smiled and left the room. Once the door was shut Clary leaned back into me. "Dreamland?"

"They heard me yelling for you, and Jenna thought we were going to get a divorce. She said her friend told her that her parents fought a lot before they got a divorce and she wanted to know if that's what was happening to us, so I tried to describe it in the best way that they would understand."

"Thank you. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen. I could just feel it and than everything went black."

"It's okay. Carter's friends should all be gone by 1, so why don't you go pack the kids things, and I'll clean up our room, and pack our stuff."

"You shouldn't have to clean up my mess Jace, I'll do it." She said and I just smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Don't worry about it Clare. I'll clean it up. You just focus on the kids, and I'll focus on you." I said and she turned around and planted a kiss on my lips.

"And I'll take care of you tonight." She said and I couldn't help but smirk. "I love you Jace. I can't thank you enough for everything."

"I love you too Clary." I gave her a kiss before I helped her up. She made her way out of the room and I took another look around and saw all the damage she created and just laughed.

Two hours later, the room was clean and we were packing. I took our suitcase and saw that Clary had put the kids by the stairs. I grabbed them all and made my way downstairs. The last friend still here was Josh. Him and Carter were sitting at the kitchen table playing a card game, while Clary was cuddled on the couch with Damion while Jenna played with her dolls. I put our suitcases down and went into the kitchen to get something to drink. When I turned around Carter was looking at me.

 _"What's with the suitcases dad?"_ He signed and I put my drink down to answer.

 _"We have to take a trip to visit your grandparents at Fort Drum for a couple days."_ I signed back and he looked concerned.

 _"Is everything okay?"_ He asked.

 _"You're grandfather is in the hospital."_ I told him and he looked shocked. He just nodded and went back to his card game. The doorbell rang and the lights flashed which caught Josh and Carter's attention. I saw Clary open up the door, and I can only assume the man was Josh's dad. Josh got up and made his way to the man. He turned around and smiled at us.

 _"Thanks for letting me stay over Mr. and Mrs. Herondale."_ He signed and I smiled back at him.

 _"You're always welcome here Josh."_ Clary signed back. His father said thank you before leaving. I turned around and looked at Clary.

"I told Carter." She nodded and walked over to Jenna and Damion.

"Hey babies, we are going to visit grandma and grandpa for a couple days." Clary said and they started jumping up and down before Jenna stopped and looked at Clary.

"Why are you sad mommy?"

"Your grandpa is in the hospital right now, and I'm a little scared for him." She said and Jenna through her arms around her mom.

"It's okay mommy. Grandpa is strong, he'll be okay." She said and I couldn't help but smile at how optimistic she was. After Jenna hugged Clary, Damion of course had to hug her, and than Carter gave her a hug.

 _"Alright, lets get going."_ I signed while I spoke and the kids all nodded and put their shoes on and headed to the car. I picked up all the suitcases and went out to and put them in the car. I got in the drivers seat and started the car. I looked at Clary and took her hand in mine, she looked over and smiled at me.

"I love you." I said and she leaned over and gave me a quick kiss.

"I love you too." She said as she got back into her seat, and we were off to Fort Drum, and hopefully while we were there we would have a nice homecoming instead of a funeral.


	29. Chapter 29

**Authors Note:**

 **I am so sorry it took me FOREVER to update this story, but I had no idea where it was going, and I know this is a short chapter, but I felt like I owed it to you guys to get something written! I hope you like it! Bare with me while I figure out where this story is heading because at the moment, I have absolutely no clue myself! Let me know what you think! :)**

 **Chapter Twenty Nine**

 **Clary POV:**

After an entirely too long car ride we were finally at Fort Drum and all I wanted to do was see my dad. Jace had dropped me off at the hospital and he would get the kids situated at the house. I gave him a quick kiss before running into the hospital and to the first nurses station that I saw.

"Valentine Morgenstern?" I asked.

"Relationship?" The nurse asked.

"I'm his daughter." I said and she nodded.

"Name?"

"Clarissa Herondale." I said and she started typing.

"Mr. Morgenstern is in room 215." She said.

"Thank you." I said and I began searching for the room. When I finally found it I opened the door and my dad was asleep and my mom was sitting in a chair next to him. "How is he?" I asked and she looked up.

"Stable for right now." She said and I gave her a hug.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"They need to run some more tests, but they aren't doing that until tomorrow." She said and I nodded. "Where are Jace and the kids?"

"He dropped me off and than went to the house. Carter, Jenna, and Damion were really cranky on the ride up. Damion needed his nap, Jenna doesn't like being cooped up for long periods of time, and Carter had a sleepover last night so he's pretty exhausted." I said and she nodded. "How are you?"

"Upset." She said. "He's healthy. I have no idea what caused this."

"Well, when the tests come back we'll know. You know how strong dad is, he won't let this take him out of the game." I said and she smiled.

"How long have you been here?"

"Since he was admitted." She said.

"Go home mom. Shower. Play with your grandkids. Come back after dinner."

"But…"

"That's a order. Send Jace over when you get home. You need a break mom. Sitting in this room all day isn't going to do anything for him, and it's not good for you." I said. "I'll stay."

"I don't know what I'd do without him Clary." She said as tears streamed down her face.

"And you won't ever have too. He's going to be fine." I said and she stood up and I gave her a hug. "I love you mom."

"I love you too Clary." She said before she left. I took her seat and got a blanket and waited until Jace got there. It was strange seeing my dad in such a vulnerable state. He was always the rock of the family. He never faltered once when Jonathan or Sebastian died, he was always the one comforting me or my mom when it became too much. Seeing him like this was different, and I didn't like it.

"Hey." I heard and I turned around and saw Jace and I smiled.

"Hey. How are the kids?" I asked as he made his way over to me.

"Damion went down as soon as his head hit the pillow. Jenna was playing with Jocelyn when I left, and Carter was watching TV but I bet he's passed out now." He said and I laughed. "How is he?"

"My mom said they need to run some tests but they aren't doing that until tomorrow." I said and he nodded.

"What's going on in that mind of yours?" He asked as he picked me up and took my seat and placed me on his lap.

"I've just never seen him so vulnerable." I said. "He's always been the strong one."

"I know it's tough seeing him like this, but Valentine wouldn't let this take him out." He said and I laughed. "What?"

"That's exactly what I told my mom." I said and he kissed my shoulder. I don't know what happened but at some point I drifted off and I was woken up when I felt my chair shift. I rubbed my eyes and saw the doctor standing in front of us.

"Are you related?" He asked.

"Yea, I'm his daughter. Is there something wrong?" I asked as I sat up straighter on Jace's lap.

"No, I just wanted to personally come in and see how his family was holding up. Where did Mrs. Morgenstern go?"

"I told her to go home and take a break. She needed one." I said and he laughed. His eyes were eyeing me up and down and it made my feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Well, if you need anything don't be afraid to call." He said and I just nodded. "My name is William, by the way." He smiled one more time before he exited the room.

"I don't like him." Jace said and I laughed. "I'm serious. He was checking you out."

"And how many women check you out on a daily basis?" I said and he was silent. "Jace, I have been yours since the moment we went out for coffee. There is no one else in the world I would rather be with." I said as I pressed my lips to his.

"I know. I just don't like when men eye you up. Especially if I'm with you. I mean, you're sitting on my lap for heaven's sake." He said and I couldn't help but laugh. "What's so funny?"

"You're kinda hot when you're all territorial like this." I said as I lowered my lips to his once again.

"Oh baby, you haven't even seen the half of it." He whispered seductively back and I couldn't stop the giggle that escaped my lips. We sat there kissing more a couple minutes before I heard my phone ringing. We broke apart and I grabbed my phone and saw my mom called.

"Hello?"

"Hey baby, I was wondering if I could come back to the hospital yet?" She asked and I laughed.

"Of course mom. I really want to get home and see the kids anyway. Jace and I will be there soon." I said and we hung up. "Come on hubby, lets go see out kids." I said and he laughed and we got up. I gave my father a kiss and we walked out of the room. William was standing at the nurses station and when I walked out his eyes immediately found mine.

"Leaving so soon?" He said. "I was hoping you'd stay for my next round."

"She's not interested." Jace stepped in, and William laughed.

"I think the blush creeping across her cheeks says otherwise." He said and at that I laughed.

"I was actually blushing because I find it super hot that my husband is so jealous." I said and I could see his eyes widen.

"Husband?" He questioned.

"Yea. Do you think I fall asleep on anyone's lap?" I asked and he looked a little stunned.

"What are you? 20?" He asked.

"None of your business. Now, if you don't mind. We have to go see our kids. My mom will be here soon." I said and I grabbed Jace's hand and lead him away. When we got outside he finally took a deep breath. I turned him around and grabbed him by the cheeks. "I love you."

"I love you too." He said as he pressed his lips to my forehead. "Come on, let's go see the kids. I could use a good old fashion family cuddle session." He said and I couldn't help but laugh and nod. We got into the car and were back at the house 15 minutes later. Damion had just woken up, and Jenna and Carter were watching something on TV. I took Damion from my mom and she flew out the door. Jace and I settled on the couch with the kids and popped in some movie that Jenna and Carter wanted to watch. I cuddled into Jace's side, and watched the movie, but my mind was focused on my dad. I couldn't even begin to think about what life would be like without him. After losing my brothers, I thought the bad luck in our family was ending, but I guess not.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

 **Time Jump – One Week Later**

 **Clary POV:**

We had been at my parents for the last week helping my mom out. My dad with still in the hospital but he was being released soon. He was doing much better and expected to make a full recovery which we were all pleased about. I was currently cleaning up the house from my kids while the little ones slept and Carter watched TV. Jace was out doing errands for my mom, and my mom was at the hospital keeping my dad company.

Carter was in the living room watching a show while I cleaned up Damion and Jenna's toys. I never realized how messy these kids are without Jace around. He was so OCD that the toys were almost immediately picked up after they were done when he was around. I heard the door open and when I looked up Jace was coming into the house. I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face every time I saw him.

"Hey." He said and I made my way over to him.

"Hey." I said back and I gave him a kiss.

"Are Damion and Jenna still sleeping?" Jace asked and I nodded. "Want me to go grab them?"

"Sure." I said and he made his way upstairs. I finished cleaning up the rest of the toys before Jace made his way back downstairs with Jenna and Damion. They joined Carter on the couch and Jace and I went into the kitchen.

"Are we still leaving tomorrow like we planned?" Jace asked.

"Of course. Why?"

"Alec texted me earlier saying we had a huge case. Apparently we just picked it up and he needs me back in the office." Jace said and I nodded.

"Yup. We will be leaving early." I said and he nodded.

"You think we should take them to the hospital to say goodbye to you dad?" He asked and I smiled.

"I think that would be great." I said and he nodded and we made our way out to the living room. I stood in front of the TV and the kids looked at me.

 _"We're going to go visit Nonno at the hospital."_ I signed and said to the kids and their faces lite up. When they got ready we all got into the car and made our way to the hospital. When we got there I grabbed Carter's hand and picked Damion up while Jace had Jenna in his arms. We got to his room and they both looked extremely happy to see them all. The doctor was in the room when we arrived and I saw Jace roll his eyes. He put Jenna down and she ran to my mom and she picked her up.

"Nonna!" She yelled and my mom smiled.

"Ciao principessa." My mom said and it warmed my heart. The little ones were picking up some Italian, and I knew it might take some time, but it made me happy that they could at least recognize certain things.

"How are you dad?" I asked when I got into the room.

"I'm fine. But William here won't let me leave until Monday." My dad said and I laughed.

"I would listen to the doctor. It is his job after all." I said and my dad gave me a annoyed look.

"And my job is to look after the whole Army, and I can't do that from this bed." He said and I shook my head.

"Us soldiers are doing okay in your little leave of absence. Once you're back you'll pick up where you left off." I said and he nodded.

"You're in the Army as well?" The doctor asked and I nodded. "That's pretty hot." He said and Jace got annoyed.

"That's is." Jace said and he grabbed William by the arm and lead him outside. I quickly followed after to make sure Jace didn't get us sued for harassment. "Can you stop hitting on my wife right in front of our family?" Jace said through gritted teeth.

"I was merely expressing my opinion." He said smugly.

"An opinion that nobody asked for." Jace said as he stepped closer. "Seriously, we're here because we were concerned for our father and you hitting on her isn't a part of your job." He continued and Clary couldn't stop smiling at the fact that Jace referred to her father as their father.

"I can't help who I find attractive." He said and I know Jace was about to defend me but that comment really got to me.

"First off, you are here to do a job. You are here to look after my father and make sure he makes a full recovery." I started and I stood in front of Jace. "Secondly, I am a married woman, who happens to be extremely in love with my husband." I said and I felt Jace's hands land on my shoulders. "And finally, I would appreciate if you kept those opinions to yourself. I do not care how attractive you find me, or how 'hot' you find my job. I will never see you again after we leave so you are barking up the wrong tree." I said and he looked stunned. "Poco merda." I said and Jace laughed.

"Egli è un po' di merda non è lui?" Jace said and I laughed and nodded. And when we both looked back at the doctor his eyes were wide.

"Are we clear here?" I asked and he nodded. "Thank you. Now I would appreciate if you didn't talk to me unless it involves my fathers health." I said and he nodded again and walked away. Jace grabbed my hand and we walked back into my fathers room and we took a seat and talked with my parents. I loved being here with them, and I was sad that we were leaving. We don't' visit my parents enough and I definitely wanted to change that.

 **Authors Note:**

 **So incredibly sorry that it took me so long. Senior year of collage man, really kicking my ass! Let me know what you think! I'm probably going to be ending this story soon! I think its about time :)**

 **Translation:**

 _Nonno - Grandfather_

 _Nonna - Grandmother_

 _Ciao principessa - Hello princess_

 _Poco merda - Little shit_

 _Egli è un po' di merda non è lui? - He is a little shit isn't he?_


	31. Chapter 31

**Authors Note:**

 **This is the last chapter of Army Life, and to be completely honest, I should have ended it last chapter but for some reason I didn't and I felt like I needed to give Clary a big move, and this was really what I could think of for her. It might not be my best ending, but I felt like I finished it in a place where I am happy with and that would be a good place to stop! Thank you for everyone who followed this story with me, and enjoyed it as much as I have! It has meant the world to me, and I appreciate all the kind words you've given me! :)**

 **Chapter Thirty One - Epilogue**

 **Time Jump – Five Years Later**

 **Clary POV:**

The past five years have been insane. Thankfully I haven't been stationed anywhere else but I have been doing a lot of traveling. I've spent a couple weeks in Spain, and than traveling to other bases around the US. I loved my job, I really did, but I missed my family. Every time I got a call from my commander I almost cry. I know that they need my help, but I hated leaving my kids, and Jace. It felt wrong, which is why I have a meeting with my commander today to discuss my retirement. I didn't want to discuss it with Jace yet because I wanted to see what my commander had to say first.

When I walked in I took a seat and was told he would be there in a moment. I didn't know why I was so nervous, I mean, I've gone into a war zone, given birth, and this is what made me nervous? When the door opened I immediately stood up and greeted my commander, when he took a seat I soon followed.

"What brings you in today Intelligence Analyst Herondale?" He asked.

"I've been thinking a lot lately, and I was wondering what I would have to do to retire?" I said and he raised his eyebrows at me.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" He asked and I smiled.

"I've loved doing my job in the army, and I'm so glad that I enlisted, but I miss my family when I travel, and it puts a lot of strain on my husband, and I think it's time that I just be a mom and a wife."

"Very well, I just need you to fill out these papers, and than they will be filed and you'll be retired." He said and I nodded.

"That's it?" I asked and he smiled.

"That's it. We appreciate your service to the United States Arm Intelligence Analyst Herondale, and we wish you luck in your future endeavors." He said and we stood up and shook hands.

"It's been an honor to serve under you Commander." I said and he smiled. I walked out of his office and made my way to the car.

When I got home Damion and Jenna were running around while Carter was nowhere to be found. I walked into the kitchen and Jace was standing there making lunch. I walked over and snaked my arms around his waist and I felt him laugh.

"How was your meeting?" He asked as he rested his hands on my waist.

"Informative." I said and he looked at me with confusion. "I went to talk to my commander about retirement."

"I didn't know you've been thinking about retiring. I know how much the army means to you." He said and I smiled.

"The army does mean a lot to me, but so do you and our kids. I hate how much traveling I've been doing and I miss you guys so much. The army has given me a lot, but I want to be a mom and wife now."

"So, how did it go?" He asked.

"I just have to fill out a bunch of paperwork, give them to them and than they will be filed and I'll be retired." I said and he nodded.

"What are you going to do after you're retired?" He asked.

"Watch our crazy kids." I said and he laughed.

"They are pretty crazy." He said ad I nodded. At that moment Damion and Jenna came running into the kitchen.

"Mommy!" Jenna yelled as she attached herself to my leg.

"What Jen?" I asked.

"Damion won't stop chasing me!" She said.

"Damion, leave Jenna alone." Jace said and Damion nodded and walked away. Jenna than unattached herself from me, and than my phone started ringing. I saw her start to pout and I forgot my phone and bent down to her level.

"What's wrong Jenna?" I asked.

"Your phone is ringing." She said.

"I know, is that a bad thing?" I asked.

"Whenever your phone rings you leave us." She said and I smiled because I guess I never realized how hard it was for them.

"Don't worry baby, mommy isn't leaving again." Jace said and she got really happy.

"Really?!" She said and I smiled and laughed.

"Really, I'm going to be around all the time now." I said and she wrapped her arms around my neck and I hugged her back. When she broke away from me she ran into the other room and I stood up and looked at Jace. "I think I'm going to love being retired." I said and he laughed.

"I know I'll love you being retired." He said as he pressed his lips to mine. I wasn't exactly sure how I would feel with the whole retirement, but after seeing how happy Jenna was that I wasn't going to be leaving really validated it for me. I was ready to be just a regular mom, and wife because no matter how happy I felt doing good for everyone else in the military, I was going to enjoy raising my kids, and falling asleep in Jace's arms every single night not worrying about being deployed again, or being whisked away to different places. I finally had a permanent home here with my kids and my husband, and that's all I ever wanted.


End file.
